


say you'll stay

by ChocolateKookie



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), EXID (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Awkward Jeon Jungkook, Bad Boy Kim Taehyung | V, Closeted Character, Coming Out, F/F, Fluff, Grease!Au, Homophobia, I'll add tags/relationships as we go!, It's gonna be a bumpy ride, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Namjoon is a student genius in the background, Pink Lady Jimin, Pink Lady Jin, Pink Lady Jisoo, Pink Lady Jungkook, Pink Lady Rosé, Secret Relationship, Shy Jeon Jungkook, T-Bird Hani, T-Bird J-Hope, T-Bird LE, T-Bird Suga, T-Bird Taehyung, everyone knows Jisoo's a lesbian except Jisoo, how did I only just tag that it's literally the entire basis of the fic, internalised homophobia kinda?, is this even grease anymore lmao, jungkook is sandy lmao, loosely, loosely based on the storyline of Grease, more like insecurity, namjin if you squint, not much though, soonshim is obviously a pivotal character tbh, they're all in sixth form
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:08:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 291,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9291596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateKookie/pseuds/ChocolateKookie
Summary: Jungkook and Taehyung meet at the beach and they spend the summer holidays falling for each other, but they both know that their romance has an expiry date.At the end of August, Jungkook is supposed to have gone back home, halfway across the country, so Taehyung expects to go back to school and continue pretending to be straight, as if nothing's changed; playing up to his role as the jerk who's never had a serious relationship. He doesn't know what to do when Jungkook turns up at his school and expects them to pick up from where they left off.or: the BTS Grease AU that no one asked for! in which Jungkook is Sandy and Taehyung is Danny and they just want to be able to be together but Taehyung is still in the closet which makes things complicated





	1. prologue: summer fling (don't mean a thing)

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [say you'll stay](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15191423) by [TheseAreMyWings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseAreMyWings/pseuds/TheseAreMyWings)



> So this is just the prologue, setting up what happened over summer before the main fic starts when school begins. I hope you like it! This is my first fic so please be kind <3 the title 'say you'll stay' is taken from the song Sandy in case anyone was wondering!
> 
> Thank you to my beta who put up with my rambling and was nothing but encouraging when I said I wanted to start writing fanfiction haha ily dongsaeng!
> 
> This is also set in England because I know nothing about American schooling systems (oops). Btw the rest of BTS plus some of EXID and BLACKPINK will arrive in Chapter 1 :)

“A bubblegum ice lolly please,” Jungkook overhears from the person in front of him and wonders if his order of plain vanilla ice cream is typically boring.

“Thank you!” the boy in front walks off with his dog in tow and Jungkook steps forward to order. Just as he’s telling the ice cream server his order, he feels a sharp bite on his left ankle.

“Soonshimmie!” the boy scolds, running forward and grabbing his dog. He looks up nervously as Jungkook turns around in confusion. “That means he likes you,” the boy explains with a nervous giggle. “Uh…”

“It’s okay,” Jungkook laughs, reaching down to pet the dog, trying to hide his face which is burning from embarrassment. Talking to new people always makes him a little nervous. “He’s cute. Kinda reminds me of my dog back home,” he comments with a small smile.

“Oh, you’re not from round here?” Jungkook looks up and notices that the boy is also cute (although he doesn’t remind him of his dog back home). His voice sounds so much deeper than Jungkook would have expected had he seen him before hearing him; gravelly and deep which doesn’t seem to match his cute, chirpy appearance. The guy’s hair is a beautiful chocolate brown, a little like his own – he briefly wonders how soft it would be to touch before he realises he’s meant to be answering a question.

“No, I moved up north a few years ago,” he stammers slightly. “I’m just here for the summer to visit my family.” The person behind the ice cream counter coughs pointedly and Jungkook straightens up to collect his ice cream cones – one vanilla and two mint choc chip for his cousins. He soon realises that getting one person to do the run for three ice creams was a stupid idea, as he struggles not to drop them.

“Do you need any help with those?” the boy smirks.

“No offense, but how would you possibly help?” he combats. “It doesn’t seem like you’ve got much control over your dog as it is, let alone with one less hand to guide him.”

“Hey, don’t take this out on Soonshimmie!” the boy pouts, stroking the dog in protest. Jungkook struggles not to smile. Yep, the boy is definitely really cute, not that Jungkook can afford to be walking around having crushes on random people at the beach whilst his ice cream is busy melting. Oh. Oops.

“I’d better get back to my cousins, actually,” he explains hastily, sorry to go. It might have been nice to make a friend.

“Okay, see you around,” the boy replies, not sounding as disappointed as Jungkook would like, but then again he does seem to get too invested in people. So he lets it go, turns around and waves awkwardly, then walks away trying not to blush. The boy isn’t even looking anymore and he wonders why he bothers. He decides right there and then to never crush on anyone ever, or even find someone attractive, because he only ends up making a fool of himself. Somewhat ironically, at that precise moment, he trips over his own feet in the sand and finds himself catapulting towards the floor.

Swallowing sand, he quickly pokes his head up to make sure no one saw, only to find that cute boy with the ice lolly and the dog stood there laughing at him. Jungkook feels his face turn an even brighter red and he stands up, brushing himself off. He looks down at his sandy ice creams lying on the floor and feels shame and embarrassment welling up inside him. Oh God, he is such a failure.

As he’s stood there wondering what to do about the ice creams (he doesn’t have enough money to buy more and if he turns up empty-handed he’ll have to explain his awkward tripping over incident and just no) Jungkook feels someone pressing a cone into his hand – vanilla, he notes, impressed – and looks up to see the boy from earlier. He’s holding two mint choc chip in his hands, the bubblegum ice lolly currently being demolished by the dog at his feet.

“You know, that’s not very healthy for your dog,” Jungkook stutters, trying not to stare now that the guy is right up close and even more handsome than Jungkook had initially realised.

He just laughs. “Come on, let’s get back to your cousins. I’m V, by the way.”

“You’re what?” Jungkook asks, not understanding, as they make their way back to the stretch of sand where his cousins are waiting for him.

“V. It’s a name,” he explains.

“That’s not a name!” Jungkook laughs incredulously.

“Well, it’s my name. Take it or leave it,” V grins, so Jungkook shrugs and accepts it.

“Oh, I’m Jungkook,” he adds awkwardly as an afterthought.

“Well, Jungkook, it’s good to meet you,” V smiles at him, and he finds himself smiling back.

 

***

 

A couple of days later Jungkook meets V again at the same ice cream place. “Am I going to see you here every day?” he teases as V walks in with his overexcited dog, discreetly adding a bubblegum ice lolly to his order.

“Maybe,” V replies seriously. “I take Soonshimmie out to the beach most days, just to get some exercise.”

“You or the dog?” he laughs.

“The dog!” V cries, acting offended, but he soon brightens up when Jungkook hands him the ice lolly. “Thanks!” he chirps. “Hang on, I’ll pay you back…” He starts fiddling in his shorts pocket for some money. (Jungkook is feeling a bit stupid for wearing skinny jeans today because it’s summer and a beach and it’s so hot out and they’re sticking to his legs a little bit. At least he had the sense to go barefoot.)

Jungkook shakes his head as V holds out a few coins. “It’s cool, it’s a gift. I basically owed you one seeing as you threw the last one to your dog just to help me out.” He gives a small smile which V returns by means of a massive grin.

“Not gonna say no to that! So, only one ice cream today?” he comments as he notices Jungkook’s vanilla cone and spare hand.

“Yeah, I just thought I’d have a day out to myself. My family’s kind of busy anyway, working and that.” He tries not to think about how much of a loner he must sound like, but V doesn’t seem to pick up on it.

“Oh, in that case, do you want to walk with me and Soonshimmie? It might be nice to have some company.”

“Sure!” Jungkook nods easily, then backtracks as he realises he sounds too eager. “I mean…”

“You think too much,” V laughs, grabbing his arm and leading him along the beach. At this touch, Jungkook feels painfully aware of his breathing and of every movement of his body. It takes everything he’s got to focus on not tripping over again. Soonshimmie follows easily behind, barking at the waves crashing at their feet and whining when V and Jungkook start paying more attention to each other than they do to their canine companion.

But, unfortunately, a little while later the sand is burning hot under Jungkook’s feet and he is once again regretting his outfit choices and they have to call it a day. “I hope to see you again soon!” V calls as Jungkook regretfully hobbles away from the beach back to his grandparents’ house.

 

***

 

The third time they meet each other, Jungkook has decided that some higher power in the universe wants them to become good friends, for which he is thankful.

“I’m starting to think you’re the only other customer this ice cream stand gets,” V laughs as he notices Jungkook sitting at the plastic table and chairs nearby with his signature vanilla ice cream. “On your own again?” he asks as he strolls over.

“I do have friends you know,” Jungkook replies crossly as his face turns red in embarrassment.

“Chill – I was just wondering if I’d be taking someone’s seat,” V smirks as he slides easily into the chair opposite.

“I suppose not,” Jungkook mumbles.

“Is red your favourite colour?” V asks randomly after a moment’s silence. Jungkook looks over questioningly to see V gesturing to his stripy red top. “Seems to be all you wear, that’s all,” he adds after registering the perplexed look on Jungkook’s face.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” he responds. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“So what _do_ you think about then?” V asks, resting his chin on his hand. Jungkook seems taken aback by the sudden attention, widening his eyes and looking down at the floor suddenly, which makes V laugh. “Seriously, I feel like I’m only talking about myself! About Soonshimmie and how excited I am to be finishing school next year and what it’s like living round here and the best walks along the beach and – tell me about you. I want to know.”

“Coming on a little strong there, V,” Jungkook laughs, trying to dissipate the tension he feels building up.

“That’s what I like to hear,” he grins, this boxy smile that Jungkook can’t get enough of. Jungkook grins automatically in response. “Come on, walk with me.” He jumps up and Jungkook follows as V bounds away from the ice cream stand to the sea.

“I don’t know where to start…” Jungkook begins as they head along the beach, Soonshimmie in tow.

“Start wherever. We’ve got time.”

 

***

 

“What do you mean you’d rather eat nothing but pizza for a year than kiss a stranger’s foot? You’re crazy!”

Jungkook struggles to hold back his laughter long enough to defend his decision. “Who would want to kiss a stranger’s foot?”

“Well that’s over and done with in a few seconds – it’s not a year-long commitment,” V explains tiresomely, as if this should be apparent to every human and dog on earth. “I honestly don’t understand you, Jeon Jungkook.”

“Hey, pizza is amazing! Who wouldn’t want to eat it every day?”

“But you’ll go off it! And then it’ll lose its charm!” V seems distraught by this thought and Jungkook feels distraught that V has such a low expectation of his capacity to eat pizza.

“Well, I’ve spent most days with you this summer and you haven’t lost your charm yet,” he replies jokingly, but the words are a bit too honest and V can clearly tell: they both fall silent and continue to watch the tide coming into the shore. The sun is beginning to set now but neither of them want to leave yet; it’s so peaceful and quiet out here, especially with the view of the clear blue waves, the golden sand, the pink sky and no one but each other to share it with.

It’s become habit over the past month or so for them to meet each other at the beach and hang out together, V walking his dog and Jungkook walking with V to keep him company. (Also they kind of need two pairs of hands to control Soonshim at times, especially when there’s food about.) Jungkook supposes he should feel guilty about not spending that much time with his family – but the lack of guilt is what makes him feel guilty. Life is too confusing for him sometimes. Either way, it feels good to get out of his head a little and get some fresh air outside with a new friend – even if he still won’t reveal his actual name. To be honest, Jungkook doesn’t mind. It’s kind of become a character thing now: he finds it oddly intriguing and he supposes that’s the idea, a hint of mystery to what would otherwise be an open book.

“How come you’ve come over here for all of summer anyway?” V asks after a while. “Surely you have friends back home you wanted to see.”

“I…” Jungkook falters, which is actually an uncommon occurrence when he’s with V. He always seems to find a way to fill the silences where Jungkook’s shyness and social inability come out to play, but for now V just lets him gather his thoughts in silence as they watch the waves from afar. Soonshim seems to sense Jungkook’s discomfort and moves from sitting at V’s feet onto Jungkook’s lap, curling up to his body heat which is welcome in the cool night air. Jungkook inhales slowly and manages to find the inner strength to talk about what’s been playing on his mind since summer began.

“I wasn’t having a great time at school and I needed to get away from everything for a while,” he explains feebly, looking down at his shoes and stroking Soonshim half-heartedly. (At this stage he’s learnt that Soonshimmie is just a cutesy nickname for the dog, which means that Jungkook was misled and was very upset about it for a couple of hours after he found out.) “My parents figured the best thing to do was to surround me with the people who loved me most, my family, so they brought me down to stay with my grandparents for a while.” He looks up at V, who has a strange expression on his face.

“Why did you want to get away from everything?” he asks, picking up on the aspect Jungkook knows he hasn’t explained enough.

“I’m gay,” he says quietly. “And people at school found out and they started making fun of me and I couldn’t be around it anymore. I needed a fresh start.” He says it so quickly that V almost misses the words; on a breezier night they could have been carried away by the wind and never seen the light of day. But it’s not a breezier night, and V hears every word – can relate to every word, in fact, a little too much for his own comfort.

“That must have been really hard,” V smiles comfortingly, but Jungkook is determinedly avoiding his gaze. “I mean –” Well, he figures, it’s now or never. “I mean I’m gay too and I can’t imagine what it would be like if anyone at school found out. It’s kind of… terrifying, actually.”

Jungkook looks up at that. “Oh,” he says softly, because he’s Jungkook and that’s all he seems to be able to say.

“Yeah, oh,” V chuckles. There’s a moment’s pause as they both let the news sink in.

“Well, V,” Jungkook starts brusquely, “I hope what happened to me never happens to you.” He tries not to let the anger take over in his voice, but then it just sounds like too factual a statement and doesn’t portray the feeling of protection he feels towards V. He knows V can’t be that innocent, but there’s an aspect of childish joy about him that Jungkook doesn’t want humanity ruining. He thinks about the people at school calling him names and pushing him around whenever they got the chance, and hopes that V doesn’t have to go through any of that when the time comes. “It sucks,” he adds softly.

“Taehyung,” he replies.

“What?”

“Taehyung. That’s my real name,” he smiles gingerly. “I don’t usually tell people – maybe it sounds weird but I don’t know. It’s like there’s a layer of protection there if nobody knows who I am?” He shrugs. “But I guess now you know more about me than most people do.” He leans back against the sand, putting his arms back behind his head.

“Taehyung’s a nice name,” Jungkook replies dumbly, because he doesn’t know what else to say. (This appears to be a running theme.) And then there’s silence. Jungkook decides he’s ruined it; hasn’t said the right thing in response, but then Taehyung speaks up again.

“It’s getting cold out. I didn’t bring a blanket.” There’s a pause. “And you stole my dog.”

Jungkook laughs at that. “Sorry,” he says teasingly. But there’s no way he’s going to give Soonshim back, not now that he can hear soft snoring emanating from his lap. But Taehyung shivers and Jungkook changes his mind again. “Sorry,” he repeats, serious this time. He takes Soonshim off his lap and leans down to place the dog’s warm body on Taehyung, but Taehyung’s hand reaches up to stop him.

Jungkook looks at him questioningly.

“Lie down with me,” he responds, closing his eyes and breathing in the salty fresh air of the seaside.

“Okay,” Jungkook smiles, and he feels Taehyung’s warm arms pulling him in as they lie together on the cold sand, a million miles away from everything that matters in life except for each other.

 

***

 

“What if I never see you again?” Taehyung asks quietly. They’re sat side by side eating ice cream together at the same place they met, one and a half months ago. They’re sitting as close as they can get to each other without sitting on top of each other – not that that would matter anyway, seeing as the place is basically completely deserted (after all it is 3pm on an overcast Tuesday) – but neither of them seems to want to verbalise that they’re craving more physical contact.

“I’ll be back to visit, Tae,” Jungkook smiles sadly, leaning his head on Taehyung’s shoulder.

“But it’s not the same,” he grumbles, wrapping his arms around Jungkook so that he doesn’t have to let him go. Jungkook takes a sneaky bite of his ice lolly and grins as soon as Taehyung realises there’s a piece missing. “Hey! This is not the way to repay me for the best summer of your life,” he complains half-heartedly, wiggling his eyebrows at Jungkook.

“That’s what you get for being so clingy,” he laughs, but doesn’t protest when Taehyung shifts Jungkook’s body so that he’s resting in his lap.

“Seriously. I’m gonna miss you.” Jungkook looks up at that and, seeing genuine sadness on Taehyung’s face, he promptly looks down again. He has to leave and there’s not much he can do about it.

“I’m gonna miss you too.” He curls his fists into Taehyung’s t-shirt and pulls himself closer, breathing in his scent. “I don’t want to go,” he whispers so quietly that Taehyung thinks he might have imagined it.

“Then don’t,” he responds just as quietly.

“I have to,” Jungkook says with a breathy chuckle.

“No.”

“Taehyung…”

“Say you’ll stay.”

Jungkook looks up again, sadness in his eyes. “I can’t. You know I can’t.”

Taehyung pulls Jungkook closer into his chest and closes his eyes, seeming to weigh up the options. “I guess I’ll just have to make the most of the last couple days we have together then.” Jungkook watches as he bites his lip, a nervous habit, and he’s leaning in towards Taehyung before he’s even processed what he’s doing.

 _Wow._ So, this is what a first kiss with a guy is like. That’s the limited amount of information that Jungkook is processing as his lips brush against Taehyung’s. It’s new and it’s different to the few kisses he’s shared with people before he realised he didn’t like girls, but in the best possible way. It feels a little like the fireworks he’s read about in those romance novels he was forced to read at school, but that’s all in the background as his mind is focused purely on Taehyung, his lips, his scent, his hands on the small of his back that draw him in closer. His breath catches a little as Taehyung’s lips press back against his and he smiles into the kiss, pulling himself impossibly closer. He threads his fingers through Taehyung’s hair, Taehyung humming happily in response, and, yep, it’s just as soft as it looks – maybe even softer. And, yeah, he’s definitely not about to admit that Taehyung’s right – this is totally the best summer of his life.

 

***

 

A few days later, when Jungkook pulls away in the car with his parents, Taehyung and Soonshim are there to wave him off, and Jungkook honestly isn’t sure who he’s going to miss most.

He’s said his goodbyes to his family and they’ve all wished him well and he knows he won’t see them again for a long time, but as he leaves this home away from home he feels his heart ache for his new best friend and his fluffy little companion.

He prays to the gods above that Taehyung was right when he promised this was only the beginning.


	2. met a boy cute as can be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook meets the Pink Ladies and T-Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter where the storyline properly starts, I hope you like it! ^.^
> 
> btw the T-Birds' names switch between their birth names and their pseudonyms to emphasise the difference between their real selves and their personas - hope that's not too confusing

Jungkook walks in through the school gates, looking around in bewilderment. There are students left, right and centre, all hugging, catching up with each other and smiling, finding their way to their classrooms and greeting the teachers. Everyone seems to know each other and Jungkook knows no one.

“Hi! I’m Jimin! So you’re new here?” someone Jungkook (funnily enough) doesn’t know gushes, hurrying towards him. It takes him a second to realise the voice is directed at him.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” he mumbles, looking away from the school buildings and at the boy who approached him.

“Ah, you’re nervous?” Jimin nods understandingly. He has charcoal black hair and cute, chubby cheeks which add to his friendly appearance, instantly making Jungkook feel at ease in his presence, which is a rare feeling for him. Jimin’s light blue top doesn’t exactly go with the pink jacket he’s sporting, but Jungkook has never been that into fashion anyway so he lets it slide.

Jimin’s wide smile thins in sympathy as Jungkook continues to shift his weight awkwardly between both feet as he looks around, feeling very much out of his depth. There isn’t much different about the actual school – it’s just that it’s full of unfamiliar faces and Jungkook struggles with new people anyway, let alone hundreds of new people.

“It’ll be fine once you get settled – I can introduce you to some of my friends if you’d like,” Jimin suggests as he notices Jungkook’s discomfort.

“Um, yeah, that’d be good. Thanks,” he says quietly.

“No problem,” Jimin smiles encouragingly. “So I gather your name’s Jungkook, right? Have you got your timetable yet? If not then I can show you to the office and they can tell you where your classes will be.”

“Um… No offense, but, uh, who are you?” Jungkook stutters. “I mean – you said you’re Jimin, but that doesn’t really…” He breaks off, scratching his head nervously. He’s not trying to be rude – he just wants to know how on earth this boy already knows who he is without him having to say anything.

“Oh, sorry! I’m your buddy – it’s this silly thing our school does to welcome new people, so that each person has a friend on their first day who they can ask any questions and stuff. If you don’t like me we don’t have to hang out anymore, obviously, but it’s useful to have someone you know you can talk to, at least.”

“Oh, no, I like you,” Jungkook insists, worried he’s offended someone already when it’s only his first day. Jimin just laughs.

“That’s alright then,” he grins easily. “Come on, let’s get your classes sorted.”

 

***

 

Min Yoongi glances nervously around before looking back down at his ancient phone, hoping nobody can tell that he’s actually not being sociable and is in fact playing a rather unsuccessful game of Snake.

He sneaks another glance upwards, cursing under his breath when he still doesn’t see anyone around who he recognises – or rather, actually likes. He recognises plenty of people but he has no intention of talking to them. “Shit,” he repeats as he glances at his phone and notices he’s died again. Maybe he’ll just send a text to Jimin to ask where he is – there’s no chance Jimin would be anything other than early on the first day back to school, unlike his so-called ‘friends’ who have left him standing alone awkwardly in the car park.

He gets as far as typing “Hey… I was just” before he hears a squealy voice calling out “SUGA!” way too loudly. He doesn’t need to turn around to know that J-Hope’s arrived.

Despite himself, Suga grins as J-Hope crushes him in a hug. “How have you been?” J-Hope grins right back, pulling away with a friendly slap on the shoulder.

“You know how I’ve been; we’ve been working in the same place all summer,” Suga grumbles as he deletes the text draft and shoves his phone back into his pocket.

“But I didn’t get to see you that much!” J-Hope protests. Before Suga can reply, they hear a voice calling to them from across the void.

“J-Hope! Suga!”

The pair turn around to see an excitable Hani walking towards them, arms linked with a pissed-off-looking LE. To the other students LE may seem intimidating, but her close friends know that she just isn’t a morning person. She’ll brighten up a little later, even if it’s not obvious to the general population.

“How have you guys been?” Hani grins. She gives them both an excitable wave as LE struggles not to scowl at Hani’s enthusiasm at such an hour.

“Fine, just work as usual,” Suga responds noncommittally in an attempt to satisfy Hani, who’s staring at him in anticipation.

“Come on Suga, I want to actually hear what you’ve been doing,” J-Hope whines, trying to act cute as he pokes him repeatedly in the cheek until Suga swats him away.

LE rolls her eyes at J-Hope. “Sure, trust you to be most excited about talking to the person you’ve seen basically every day.”

“Just because I was doing work experience in the same company doesn’t mean I got to see him,” J-Hope protests. “And you guys never messaged me to hang out or anything. What were you even doing?”

“Oh, the same as usual,” LE shrugs. “Telling my parents there’s no way I’m giving up my waitressing job, then arguing about it constantly. I also went to visit my sister a couple times.”

“She’s getting out soon, right?” Hani asks interestedly.

“Yeah, should only be a couple months more I think,” LE replies disinterestedly. “It’s not a big deal; she’ll probably do something else and land herself right back in there.”

“What did she do this time?” Suga asks with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

“Oh, I don’t know, robbery or something stupid,” LE scoffs. “She never learns. My family got a TV out of it though. Only had it for a couple weeks before the police reclaimed it but she maintains that it was worth it.”

“She is an odd one,” Hani agrees. “I never liked her.”

“I’m not sure how much you ever liked me either, to be fair,” she laughs – her first smile of the day, Hani notices proudly. She laughs as well, because there’s no denying it: it’s true that she was kind of scared of LE back when they were younger, but there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for her now. Including going back to school, apparently, just so that LE can get some worthwhile qualifications to work for the financial support that her family never deemed necessary.

“What about you, Hani? What did you get up to over summer?” J-Hope asks interestedly. She’s about to launch into explanations of awkward blind dates and far too much Internetting when she notices V out of the corner of her eye.

“V!!” she calls him over excitedly. He turns around to look at who’s called his name and, once he notices his group of friends, he winks a goodbye to the few girls surrounding him and strolls over. He’s wearing his signature black trousers, black t-shirt and T-Bird jacket, even though it’s pretty warm today. The look suits him, so no harm done.

Hani notices that he’s also smudged some eyeliner on the corners of his eyes and admires that the summer break hasn’t made him any less vain. “I swear he’s got even more attractive,” Hani confides in LE. “Rosé was one lucky chick.”

“Calm down, Hani, you’re not a cougar,” LE laughs.

“I’m just saying!” Hani insists. “He’s still like a little brother to me. I’m just proud, that’s all.” She gives V a big hug when he arrives and he smirks at her.

“Admiring me, were you?”

“I’d admire you more if you weren’t so cocky,” she laughs.

“Talking of which, how much action did you get over summer?” J-Hope asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Hani hits him on the arm, but he persists. “Seriously, there must have been something pretty serious going on if you didn’t respond to any of my texts.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like you,” Suga suggests, but J-Hope ignores him.

“You know what my family is like,” V explains, rolling his eyes as they all nod in sympathy. “I had to spend time with them, and walk the dog, do chores at the house, all that stuff. It really wasn’t so exciting.”

“So you didn’t get with anyone at all?” LE raises her eyebrows. “That really doesn’t sound like you.”

“Well, there was _someone_ – when I was down at the beach,” V starts, but he pauses, wondering whether he should stop before he gives too much away. “It was short-lived, anyway.”

“Well, that’s the most boring summer you’ve had so far,” J-Hope says decisively, turning towards the others. “Anyone else got something more interesting to talk about?”

“Nah, I wanna hear about V’s chick he picked up at the beach,” Suga smirks.

“Yeah, what’s she like?” Hani asks, punching V playfully on the arm until he responds.

“Whatever, fine, I’ll tell you,” V laughs, shoving Hani away. Deciding it’s best to stay close to the truth, he begins to describe Jungkook. “Okay, picture this: seriously hot, but also with this aura of innocence that was kinda intriguing. Like, what a perfect opportunity to mess someone up,” he grins. “But – er, she was pretty cool, really. Not bad conversation, either, when there wasn’t, you know, other stuff going on,” he winks meaningfully.

“I can’t believe you were getting off with some chick at the beach while I was busy lifting machinery,” Suga complains half-heartedly.

“Your fault for having a job, mate,” V replies unsympathetically.

“Well, this same job gave me a car, so who’s laughing now?”

“Wait, seriously?” V responds, instantly paying more attention.

“Yeah, I helped Suga get it out of the shop last week,” J-Hope confirms excitedly. “It’s seriously run-down so they were gonna throw it out, but Suga said that he’d like to take it and fix it up.”

“That’s awesome!” Hani grins. “We can work on it this term, get it running for our last year all together.”

J-Hope pushes Hani playfully, pouting at her. “Don’t talk about our last year together.”

“Stop being such a wuss,” LE laughs. “It’s not like we’ll all just forget about each other. Besides, who am I meant to serve at the café if none of you come by and visit?”

Before Hani has time to think of a witty response a teacher shows up behind them and starts scolding them for skipping the first lesson of the year.

“But it’s the first lesson, you just said,” Suga mutters, trying to get her to see reason. “We’re not going to be learning anything useful anyway.”

V bites his lip as the teacher narrows his eyes at Suga, trying to stop himself from laughing out loud. After he’s gone, the four others burst out laughing and LE pokes Suga in the face for turning so white at the scolding he received.

“I know we’re not exactly model students but getting a detention on the first day back is pretty impressive,” J-Hope admires with tears in his eyes.

“Whatever,” Suga shrugs nonchalantly as they saunter along the hallways.

 

***

 

After an introductory lesson in Art and Design which helps to take Jungkook’s mind off his nerves (thankfully nobody tries to talk to him), it’s lunch time and Jimin is waiting for him outside his classroom to show him where to go.

Once they’re loaded with food Jimin walks purposefully outside. “Let me introduce you to the gang,” he grins as he leads Jungkook over to a table where two girls and one boy are already sat down eating. One of the girls has black wavy hair which falls as low as her black crop top, covered with a pink jacket which Jungkook thinks looks curiously similar to Jimin’s. The other girl has straight ginger hair and a friendly face, which is why Jungkook feels odd for immediately being a little scared of her. She’s also wearing a pink jacket. Jungkook briefly wonders whether it’s a cult thing. The unknown boy seems a little older than the two girls and he’s sat there munching away whilst the other two are caught in a conversation about something. Jungkook notes interestedly that his hair is the same shade of pink as the girls’ jackets.

“Guys,” Jimin interrupts gently. “This is Jungkook; he just moved here.” He puts his tray down on the table and gestures for the others to shift along the bench so that Jungkook can sit down too. “Jungkook, meet Jisoo, Rosé and Jin!”

Jungkook smiles hesitantly in their direction and the girl in the crop top – Jisoo – smiles back. Rosé however ignores his gaze and Jin’s mouth is too full for him to return the smile, although he does throw a casual wave in Jungkook’s direction to acknowledge his presence.

“What brings you to the area?” Jisoo asks.

“Well, my grandparents and cousins and everyone live near here so we figured it’d be nice to move a little closer to them,” Jungkook explains. He’s not about to tell them that he was headed back home just last week to his old school where he’d be starting Year 12, because then he’d have to explain why he burst into tears a couple hours into the journey, protesting that he couldn’t go back there.

His parents were thankfully sympathetic and they’re now renting a small apartment, as close as they could get to the family at such short notice. They’ve dropped everything for Jungkook and he feels grateful, but definitely not ready to talk about it yet with people he hardly knows.

He’s caught up in his thoughts a little too much to notice Rosé smirking in his direction and whispering to Jisoo that he’s definitely too innocent to be part of the Pink Ladies.

“Come on Ro,” Jimin says, rolling his eyes. “He could do with some friends to show him round. There’s no harm in letting him in!”

“We don’t have enough jackets,” Jisoo says shortly.

“I can always make another one! It’ll be good practice anyway,” Jin smiles kindly at Jungkook, who feels like he should thank him in response but has no idea what he’d be thanking him for.

“Um, sorry, but, uh, what are we letting me into here?” Jungkook questions, not following the conversation at all, and still thinking it’s some kind of cult thing.

“The Pink Ladies!” Jimin exclaims brightly.

Jungkook frowns. “You mean, like the apple?”

There’s an awkward pause as Rosé stares at him blankly and Jimin looks curiously at the apple in his hand.

“No, it’s our name,” Jin corrects, picking up his jacket from its place on the bench beside him and holding it up for Jungkook to see. Sure enough, on the back of the pink jacket are the words ‘Pink Ladies’ printed on in black cursive. “It’s like a friendship group thing.”

“Oh,” Jungkook nods understandingly, not understanding a thing.

“The Pink Ladies run this school,” Jisoo states modestly, flashing him a dazzling smile, “so we’ll have to make sure you’re up to standard before we get Jin to make you a jacket.”

“You make these?” Jungkook asks Jin in surprise. He looks at the printing of the words and the leathery fabric of the material on Jimin’s back. “It looks really professional.”

“Thank you,” Jin smiles, blushing slightly. “I did them sometime last year after it became something people started calling us,” he explains.

“It was meant to be an insult at first, I think,” Jimin smirks. “Something ironic about how we acted all tough when we weren’t. Definitely threw them off when we actually started using it.”

“The whole thing was quite useful actually; it gave me some more experience working with fabric which I can tie into my dress-making course. I’d never done much with leather before,” Jin admits.

“Before you ask him why he wanted to learn how to make dresses,” Rosé pipes up, “I’d better explain that he’s just making his way through the alphabet until he finds a course he can actually pass.”

“Come on Ro, that was harsh,” Jisoo comments, but Jimin’s laughing so Jungkook figures it’s okay.

“She’s just jealous that she didn’t get to wear one ‘til this year,” Jin grins cheekily at Jungkook. “Can’t be wearing a pink jacket with your school uniform,” he teases.

“Just because I’m in the year below.” Rosé rolls her eyes at him disapprovingly, but she’s smiling. “Anyway, it looks like I might not be the youngest here anymore,” she says with a pointed look at Jungkook.

“Oh, of course! You’ve just had the longest summer of your life after GCSEs, right?” Jimin grins. “What did you get up to?”

“Oh, well, I spent most of it at the beach.” He struggles not to blush. “I kind of… met someone.”

“Oooh, who’s the lucky girl?” Jimin squeals excitedly. “…or boy?” he adds easily when he notices Jungkook’s hesitation.

He smiles gratefully. “Well, I mean, it was kind of funny really – he wouldn’t tell me his name at first, but he had the cutest dog, who bit me, which is actually how we met…” He trails off as he frowns in thought. It always sounded a lot more romantic when he relived it in his head.

“Sounds like a blast,” Rosé comments sarcastically, before inspecting her cuticles (which are clearly more interesting to her than Jungkook’s whole summer). He feels himself getting annoyed – what did he ever do to her? But Jimin is quick to salvage the situation.

“He sounds great, Jungkook,” he smiles kindly.

“He is. Was,” he corrects himself. “I mean. I don’t know. I guess… It was nice while it lasted, you know?” His voice turns quiet and Jin senses that it’s time to change the topic, so he turns to Jisoo, asking what she’s been up to over the last couple months and they spend the rest of their lunch break teasing her about all the new boyfriends she’s picked up over summer.

 

***

 

“Mate, you really weren’t kidding when you said it was run-down,” V says disapprovingly, looking at the battered excuse of a truck. The five T-Birds are grouped in J-Hope’s garage where the vehicle is parked, wondering why on earth he and Suga thought it would be a good idea to take this piece of junk home.

“It was free,” Suga grumbles, but he doesn’t disagree. It’s certainly going to be a lot of work.

“Do you really want us to spend our free time trying to fix this?” LE asks sceptically. The situation is not looking promising and she actually wants to have some time to study and pass her exams, unlike some of her friends.

“Come on guys, it’ll be fun!” J-Hope insists. “It will be a cool project.”

“It will probably be more rewarding seeing it all fixed up after we’ve seen it like this,” Hani agrees. “We’ll be able to see just how much effort we put into it.”

“Effort is the problem,” LE responds, cocking an eyebrow. “Some people actually have a job, you know.”

“Really? Some people have a job?” Suga asks in mock surprise. “Come to think of it, I wonder where on earth I got this truck from.”

LE glares at him and Suga glares back, as if challenging LE to say something. Sensing an argument about to break out, Hani decides to stop things before they get any further. “Okay guys, we can talk about the options later. At least we have the choice to work on it if we want, right?” She looks round at them, wincing at the tangible tension.

There’s complete silence for a second before Hani speaks up again. “Go on then, V, tell me more about this girl you pulled, seeing as nobody else seems to have anything interesting to say,” she says impulsively, reaching for a change of subject.

“Hey, he might not be the only one who got some this summer!!” J-Hope says indignantly.

The others roll their eyes and Hani smiles at J-Hope’s ability to dispel any signs of conflict.

Unwilling as they are to acknowledge J-Hope’s comment, LE decides to humour him. “Okay then, how many girls did you pull?”

“None!” he says proudly. “I’m just PULL-ing your leg! Hahaha.”

LE, Hani, V and Suga inwardly groan.

“What?” J-Hope protests. “That was good!”

“Let me save you some time: none of your puns are ever good,” Hani tells him with a pat on the shoulder.

“Coming from _you_ ,” J-Hope cries, but Hani just laughs.

“My puns are intellectual,” she defends with a goofy grin. “If you guys don’t understand them then it’s your fault for being stupid.”

“We understand them fine; they’re just not funny,” LE mutters, earning herself a pinch on the arm.

“V, you’re being really quiet today. Is something up?” J-Hope frowns, looking over at his best friend. The others all look over at V, noticing his passive expression and Suga nods in agreement, feeling concerned. V is usually the one making stupid comments and suggestions that everybody laughs at, but he’s acting oddly out of character – his demeanour seems to change every time his summer romance is brought up. Suga only hopes that the others haven’t been as observant as him, because if something is really wrong then he knows that the T-Birds probably aren’t the people V will want to talk to about it. It’s not that they don’t care about V; it’s just that V has never really confided in any of them, always maintaining a certain level of distance.

V fidgets under the T-Birds’ attention, remaining silent – this in itself being very uncommon because he usually loves being the centre of attention – and Suga takes his chance to smooth things over before things get more uncomfortable. “Being back at school is always a bit of a shock to the system,” Suga comments, looking round at the others. “He’s probably just too exhausted to put up with you lot.”

“Don’t act as if ‘you lot’ doesn’t include you too, Suga,” V smirks, his original attitude back, causing Suga to breathe an inward sigh of relief. “Anyway, let’s leave this pile of junk where it is and head over to the café. I need a pick me up.”

“I’m with you there,” Hani says, picking up her handbag and following V out onto the street, whilst LE whines about having to go back to her workplace even when it’s her day off.

 

***

 

A couple days later, the Pink Ladies are all sat together at lunch, unusually quiet. Rosé is too busy texting to care, Jimin too busy not working on his maths homework that’s due in for next lesson (“It’s not late _yet_ ,” he defends as he stares at the blank piece of paper sitting in front of him), and Jungkook just has no idea what to say to any of them so obviously he’s no help.

“Does anyone know any good conversation starters?” Jin asks suddenly, interrupting the silence that has settled. Jisoo shrugs helplessly, whilst Jimin immediately cracks a smile.

“Did you seriously just use that as a conversation starter?” Jimin rolls his eyes fondly.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Jin grins.

“Barely. I’d hardly call this a conversation,” Rosé murmurs without looking up from her phone.

“It’s only not a conversation because you’re refusing to make eye contact with anyone,” Jisoo combats, curiously peering at Rosé’s phone when she doesn’t answer. She sees ‘J-Hope’ written at the top of the screen proceeded by a heart and smirks knowingly.

There’s another awkward pause and Jin sighs dramatically. “Okay, I’m bored of this conversation now,” he announces, ignoring the other’s comments about how this string of dialogue couldn’t be classed in such terms. “I want Jungkook to tell me more about this guy at the beach.” The four of them look over expectantly. (Well, three. Rosé still couldn’t care less about Jungkook but he’s getting used to it.)

“Well… There’s not much more to tell,” Jungkook admits, feeling uncomfortable at being thrust under the spotlight.

“Did anything happen with you two?” Jimin asks interestedly.

“Not really. We just got to know each other really well,” he says with a small smile.

“How many times?” Jisoo enquires, leaning her arms on the table expectantly.

“What? Oh – oh no – it really wasn’t like that – I…” Jungkook sighs. “We talked a lot, okay? It was… nice. Like we’d become best friends for the summer.”

“Gosh, I would love to have a summer romance like that,” Jimin grins. “What types of things did you talk about?”

“Everything, really.” Jungkook’s face takes on a distant expression as he’s transported back to summer days at the beach, sat next to a boy with a smile so bright it could rival the sun. “Like, we played a lot of would you rather at first, which really confused me because the first question just came out of nowhere – but we totally disagreed on what we would choose and it was really funny. What was the question again? It was like… Like ‘would you rather eat chocolate-flavoured shit or shit-flavoured chocolate?” As he looks round at them expectantly, the scene shifts back to a crowded school in the beginning of autumn. Jungkook tries not to let himself feel disappointed.

“That’s gross,” Jisoo wrinkles her nose in disgust. “But being a vegan, it doesn’t seem I have much choice.” Jungkook cracks a smile at that, but the others just look confused.

“Since when have you been a vegan?!” Rosé scoffs.

“Since last week,” she replies seriously. “I heard it’s really healthy and I’m trying to watch my weight so I thought I’d try it out.”

“Trust you,” Rosé laughs.

“Well in that case…” Jin mutters as he scoops up some of her food and dumps it onto his own lunch tray.

“I said I’m trying to watch my weight, not starve!” Jisoo protests.

“Rice pudding has milk in,” he responds with his mouth full of (what would have been) Jisoo’s dessert.

“Um, anyway,” Jungkook hesitantly continues, “I made friends with Soonshim really quickly – that’s his dog – such a cute name for such a cute dog, I mean really, you should have seen when –”

“Hey, that’s funny, isn’t that the name of V’s dog as well, Ro?” Jimin interrupts, picking at a blueberry muffin. Rosé just shrugs, gazing at Jungkook curiously. “Must be a popular name,” Jimin comments, more to himself than to anyone else. When he notices Jungkook staring at him, he clears his throat embarrassedly. “Sorry, carry on.”

But he’s clearly misunderstood what Jungkook’s look means because the next thing they know, Jungkook’s responding, “Did you just say V?” He looks round at them. “Do you know him?”

“Wait,” Jisoo says suddenly, her eyes twinkling and an excited smile slowly spreading across her face. She leans forward in her seat. “Is V the guy you met at the beach?” This catches Rosé’s attention and she also leans over towards Jungkook who, by the way, is feeling beyond confused.

“Do you know him?” Jungkook repeats.

“I’m sure you’ll see him again at some point. He told you this was only the beginning, right? Fate has a funny way of working things out,” Rosé replies breezily. She’s wearing a bright little grin, which is relatively rare (especially during school time) and Jimin eyes her apprehensively.

“You really think so?” Jungkook smiles hopefully, and Rosé almost regrets what she’s planning to do. Almost.

 

***

 

At the end of school, Rosé leads the other Pink Ladies and Jungkook through the parking lot. “We’ve been here a few days and I don’t think Jungkook has met the T-Birds yet!” she claims, although she seems way too excited considering she had approximately zero interest in Jungkook before today at lunch.

As Jungkook is walking along idly, he asks Jimin who the T-Birds are.

“Just some friends; we hang out with them a lot,” Jimin responds passively, seeming a bit nervous. He’s looking between Rosé and Jisoo sceptically, who are practically skipping through the parking lot, and Jungkook can’t work out what it is but he’s definitely missing something.

But Jungkook doesn’t dwell on it for long because his mind becomes occupied with all the people hanging out round the parked cars – mainly couples making out and Jungkook feels like he’s intruding, even though it’s a public space. There are also some people smoking, some drinking, and some goofing around near a run-down car a few feet away. Isn’t it illegal to get drunk in public areas? Jungkook wonders idly. The people stood next to the car are all wearing black leather jackets despite the sweltering heat and Jungkook briefly contemplates how cool they think they look. In his opinion it just seems very impractical.

“Hey guys!” Rosé calls over to the guys in black jackets and Jungkook almost rolls his eyes. Of course these guys would be the people the Pink Ladies were close friends with. How had he not connected the dots from the matching jackets alone?

“Rosé,” LE frowns. Rosé doesn’t usually approach them all as a group, choosing to single out either V or J-Hope, and she certainly doesn’t ever look so happy about seeing them.

“Nice to see you too,” Rosé rolls her eyes at LE, and there it is. She’s back to her normal scathing self and LE breathes a sigh of relief.

“What’s up?” some boy with jet black hair (the others know him as J-Hope) asks, swaggering over. Jungkook swears he sees him wink, but he can’t be sure. But Rosé pushes past him, clearly seeking someone else’s attention. It’s a bit too dark for Jungkook to really see any of the T-Birds’ faces and Jin and Jimin are kind of blocking his view, but Rosé must find who she’s looking for because –

“V, there’s someone I want you to meet,” she grins, as Jisoo drags Jungkook forward. Jungkook squints slightly at the face in front of him, wondering why it looks so familiar, but it’s so dark out and –

 “Oh yeah?” V smirks, as if the prospect of anyone being interesting enough for him is laughable, but then his eyes lock with Jungkook’s and V feels himself being transported back to the beach with sandy cuddles and moonlit kisses. “Jungkook!” he all but squeals, frozen in place by the shock.

Jungkook feels his jaw drop of its own accord. “Oh my God,” he exclaims, a little louder than he means to.

“What are you doing here?!” V gapes, taking a step closer to Jungkook to make sure that he’s not just seeing things. “I thought you were going back home!” he protests, but he’s grinning and now so is Jungkook.

“Well, home is here now,” Jungkook explains simply. “I guess you’re stuck with me after all.”

“That’s amazing, I can’t believe I –” Suddenly V becomes all too aware of the faces staring at him, and the sandy beaches and peachy pink skies disappear until he’s left in a dark parking lot with a load of best friends he doesn’t really know. “I mean, that’s cool,” he shrugs, taking a step back from Jungkook.

“Um – thanks?” Jungkook frowns, confused about V’s sudden change in demeanour.

“Don’t sweat it,” V shrugs, trying to avoid eye contact with Jungkook in case his façade slips again. He can’t allow people to figure things out – not now, he’s not ready –

Jungkook finds himself stepping back as well. “Why are you being weird?”

“Being weird? What are you talking about?” V scoffs. “Don’t make me laugh. Ha ha ha,” he forces out to emphasise his point.

Jungkook feels his frown deepen. “Seriously, is there something wrong?”

“You just need to chill out, dude,” V smirks, and woah. _Dude._ Jungkook tries to stop his eyebrows shooting up in surprise but it’s difficult, because he knows that that word is in V’s vocabulary, but it most certainly isn’t a word he ever used to address Jungkook.

“Right, sure. I’ll… See you around then?” Jungkook mutters. Something’s changed and he’s not happy about it, but he resolves to dwell on it later.

“Sure. Or not,” V adds casually as Jungkook walks away. V closes his eyes in frustration as the Pink Ladies stare at him before following behind Jungkook, asking him what’s going on. V lets out a deep breath he didn’t realise he was holding in as he watches Jungkook leave.

“Who was that?”

V’s staring into the distance, lost in thought. What’s he going to do now? The best thing that’s happened to him in a long time is walking away from him and he might not even see Jungkook around, just because V’s acting like an idiot and doesn’t have the courage to greet him properly. But what is he supposed to do? He never thought that two such opposing parts of his life would collide this way.

“Hey, who was that?” J-Hope repeats, poking V in the shoulder when he doesn’t respond.

“Oh, just some guy I met this summer; he spilt ice cream on me one time,” V explains easily, looking over at Jungkook’s retreating figure longingly. He doesn’t think he’s ever resented his unacceptance of his own sexuality more than in this moment, not after seeing the confusion and disappointment evident on Jungkook’s face.

But no, it’s better this way. It’s the only way it can be – because if things were to progress between them into a proper relationship, there would be no way to hide it and the thought of being ‘out’ is scarier than anything right now.

So V spends the rest of the night with his friends, pretending to be interested in Suga’s new car and J-Hope’s new dance routine when all he really cares about is seeing Jungkook smile again.


	3. tell me more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pink Ladies have a sleepover!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don’t know how much I wanted to call this chapter “so come on let’s sleepover”
> 
> But in case you hadn’t noticed I’m doing a thing with grease lyrics and chapter titles, so no.
> 
> Also if you’ve never seen The Sleepover Club then you’re really missing out tbh

“Jungkook, are you okay?” Jimin asks, putting a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder as they walk away from the T-Birds in the car park, but Jungkook doesn’t reply. He wants to tell them that he doesn’t understand – doesn’t understand why V is being rude to him or why he’s suddenly acting so distant, but the truth is that he understands it all.

He doesn’t want people to know that he’s gay, right? Jungkook repeats inside his head. So of course he’s not going to tell his friends about their summer romance, or friendship, or whatever it even was. It makes sense.

Or even acknowledge the significance of Jungkook’s presence when they see each other again. Of course not.

So why does Jungkook feel like his chest is being crushed?

“Hey, how about we have a sleepover at mine?” Jin suggests, breaking into Jungkook’s thoughts.

“It’s Thursday,” Jungkook says pointedly, looking at Jin disapprovingly.

“Okay, fine, let’s have a sleepover this weekend then. Saturday night. Sound good? You seem like you need some cheering up.” Jin returns Jungkook’s glare and Jungkook sighs in defeat.

“Okay. Maybe that’ll be nice,” he acknowledges. If he’s already lost his summer best friend, he’s not about to push away the new school friends he’s got as well.

“Brilliant!” Jisoo grins. “I’ve missed our sleepovers over summer,” she continues wistfully.

“How are you so sentimental? It’s been hardly 2 months,” Jimin rolls his eyes despairingly, teasing her. “Honestly, how do so many people want to go out with you?”

“I have my charms, Chim Chim,” she smiles brightly as Jimin wraps an arm around her waist.

“Anyway, it’ll be nice to all get to know each other a little better,” Rosé smiles mischievously, shooting Jungkook a surreptitious glance, and now he understands why he got such a weird vibe from Rosé when they first met. She seems to be the type to stir up drama – not the best thing in his opinion, especially when his life doesn’t really feel like it needs much more drama right now.

 

***

 

A couple days later, Jungkook is sat on Jin’s carpeted bedroom floor with a can of beer and a tonne of regret for his life decisions. This is seriously not his type of gathering, but the older boy had been so lovely and welcoming so far that he would feel bad about saying so.

“Come on, Jungkook, have you never had a drink?” Jisoo teases, picking up on the way that he’s sitting stiffly and cupping the can with both hands, without having raised it to his lips once.

“Um, well, I had some champagne at my cousin’s wedding once,” Jungkook replies honestly, looking up at Jisoo as she walks around Jin’s bed and sits against one of the fluffy pillows.

“Wow, that’s wild,” Rosé laughs before heading into the bathroom with a makeup bag held protectively to her chest. Jungkook smiles shyly at her approval until he realises that she’s being sarcastic.

“Seriously, drink up,” Jisoo grins, taking a demonstrative swig of her own beer. Jungkook nods and takes a sip of the drink, wincing as he swallows. What the hell do they put in there?

“Anyway, did you say that you moved out here because of your family?” Jisoo asks curiously, shifting her position to lie flat and wiggle her legs up in the air. She raises her eyebrows at Jungkook when he remains silent. “I feel like I know next to nothing about you. Tell me more.”

“Well… Yeah, that’s kind of the reason,” Jungkook shrugs, feeling intimidated under Jisoo’s expectant gaze. “I mean, things were pretty dark a few months ago –”

“Oh yeah, winter can be like that,” Jisoo nods sympathetically.

“Um, yeah, sure,” Jungkook agrees, “but I meant more – I was just in a very dark place. Emotionally.” He cringes as Jisoo watches him curiously, trying to figure him out.

“Oh, was it Hull?” she asks eventually.

Jungkook grimaces. “Never mind.”

“Hey everyone!” Jimin calls as he enters the bedroom.

“How did you get in here?” Jin asks in alarm.

“Your mum let me in,” Jimin shrugs as he sets his bag down on the floor next to the bed.

“About time,” Rosé calls over, emerging momentarily from the bathroom. “The rest of us arrived half an hour ago.”

“Yes, but did any of _you_ bring needles and ice?” Jimin combats.

Jin frowns and Rosé simply rolls her eyes, heading back into the bathroom to continue applying her eyeliner.

“I wasn’t aware we were supposed to…” Jisoo says hesitantly, eyeing Jimin warily as she waits for him to explain his reasoning.

“Jungkook doesn’t have his ears pierced yet,” Jimin shrugs, brandishing the ‘equipment’ he’s brought along in his bag. “I thought I could do it for him tonight.”

Jungkook gawks, feeling his hands clench nervously around the can.

“God, Jungkook! Jimin may be a little stupid but don’t take it out on the beer,” Jisoo scolds as Jungkook feels the liquid spilling out over his hands and onto the carpet. Jin leaves the room and quickly reappears with a kitchen roll, mopping up the spilled drink as Jungkook apologises profusely.

“There’s no need to be dramatic, guys,” Jimin chuckles. He glances at Jungkook, who still looks absolutely terrified. Jimin smiles kindly, walking over to Jungkook and plonking himself down on the carpet next to him. “I’m going to work in beauty and wellness once school’s over. I’m really good at it too, I promise!” He wiggles his eyebrows at Jungkook, waving the needle and ice around enticingly. (Jungkook worries he’s going to get accidentally stabbed with the contraption before Jimin has a chance to do it deliberately.) “Come on, Jungkook, it’ll be fun! Please?”

Jimin grins brightly at Jungkook as he sees the younger’s expression waver. “I mean… Maybe…?” Jungkook hesitantly agrees, not entirely sure what he’s getting himself in for.

“Great! Let’s go into the bathroom to give us some privacy – don’t want to be getting blood on Jin’s carpet after all –”

“Blood?” Jungkook asks worriedly as Rosé yells out “You can’t do that; I’m in the bathroom!”

“Then get out of the bathroom,” Jimin responds simply as he ushers Jungkook in. Rosé walks out a second later, sporting an angry expression and a half-completed face of makeup.

“Woah, your eyeliner’s looking a bit uneven, Ro,” Jisoo comments helpfully as she looks up at her friend.

“I’m not finished,” Rosé spits out in reply, before sinking her face down onto Jin’s duvet.

“No makeup on my bed!” Jin reminds her, grinning widely as Rosé groans and sits back up again. “What’s up with you today, anyway?” he asks, his expression turning more serious.

“What are you talking about?” Rosé scoffs. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m always rude.”

“You’re always _rude_. You’re not always so grouchy,” Jisoo clarifies, giving her friend a pointed look. “I swear you’ve been on edge since Jungkook arrived.”

“He’s just so… _innocent_ ,” she says scathingly. “He doesn’t fit in with us. I don’t get why Jimin insists on keeping him around.”

“Hey, come on, he’s not doing any harm,” Jin insists, patting Rosé on the back consolingly as she continues to look miserable. “And you’re still our favourite dongsaeng, as rude as you may be,” he jokes.

“Yeah, there’s no need to feel threatened,” Jisoo agrees.

“Threatened?!” Rosé asks incredulously. She looks around at them, seeming overly shocked. “Guys. I don’t feel threatened. I just think Jungkook doesn’t mix well with us. I mean, he’s never had a drink, he’s never even got with anyone apparently –”

“Unless you count the mysterious guy at the beach,” Jisoo giggles.

Rosé laughs in reply. “Oh my actual God, can you believe it? I was following the story until I realised he was talking about V, of all people.”

“Oh bless him,” Jisoo smiles fondly. “I would’ve dropped the story by the time I realised we all knew V, though. Did you see how disappointed he was when he met V again in the car park? Poor thing, he can’t have known him all that well.”

“No kidding,” Rosé rolls her eyes, sitting up to engage in the conversation a bit better. “I mean, I guess they recognised each other, but could you tell how awkward it was?”

“Ow!” They hear a clatter from the bathroom and Jin winces, whilst Rosé raises her eyebrows, faintly amused.

“Poor Jungkook,” Jin agrees sadly, settling down on the edge of the bed next to Jisoo. “I guess he must’ve built up some sort of expectation in his head of what V was – easy enough to believe if it’s just a summer crush, but it gets a bit harder once you actually get to know him…” He frowns, remembering the disappointed expression on Jungkook’s expression. He wishes V could have been a better first crush for him, but things don’t always go the way you want them to.

“It’s kind of sad, isn’t it?” Jisoo agrees. “He was obviously so–”

“Guys,” a pained voice interrupts from behind them and they turn around to see Jimin standing in the doorway with a miserable Jungkook beside him, blood trickling down from his ear.

“Were you making fun of me?” Jungkook asks quietly.

“No…” Jin denies softly, but he doesn’t have any defence. “We were just…” He looks to Jisoo for guidance.

“Sorry, Jungkook,” she apologises with a sympathetic smile, “it’s just… Do you really expect us to believe what you told us about V? It’s obvious it wasn’t all you chalked it up to be.”

Jungkook falters, unsure of how to respond. He doesn’t want people to think he’s a liar. But he’s definitely not about to out Taehyung – and it’s clear that they don’t exactly believe him anyway.

“We don’t blame you for what you said,” Jin reassures him, misunderstanding the look of worry on Jungkook’s face. “I understand how it feels being attracted to someone, and it can be nice thinking about what else could have happened. But… is there anything you want to tell us about what _really_ happened over summer?”

Jungkook sighs, giving into Jin’s request. “I suppose we didn’t bond as much as I thought. We talked a bit, but I guess it meant more to me than it did to him. Maybe I just built it up into my head to seem like something more real,” he lies, head hung low in embarrassment.

“It’s okay,” Jimin murmurs, pulling Jungkook into a quick hug. “You’ll get over him soon enough. No harm done, right?” He smiles brightly at Jungkook, who finds himself smiling back. He’s quickly learning that Jimin’s smile is infectious.

“Anyway. Let’s talk about something else,” Jin says decisively, reaching for his laptop.

“You say that, and yet you immediately become unsociable,” Rosé complains, gesturing to the laptop.

“I have to update my blog,” Jin explains exasperatedly. “It’s been bad enough being back at school so I can’t update as often. I’m not about to skip out on weekend posting just because you guys have decided to camp out in my bedroom.”

“You invited us here!” Jisoo argues, chucking a pillow at Jin’s face, who laughs.

“You run a blog?” Jungkook asks interestedly.

“Yeah, a food one,” Jin smiles as Jisoo pats a pillow on the bed for Jungkook to sit down on. Jimin takes a seat as well and they all find themselves sitting awkwardly close, spread across the double bed as Jin explains the concept of his blog to Jungkook. “It’s called Eat Jin,” he explains, showing Jungkook his homepage. “I mainly make food and post the recipes along with some pictures, but I also go out to restaurants and review places sometimes.”

“That’s really cool,” Jungkook replies, scrolling down the page and looking at the different pictures. “Did you edit these photos yourself? The lighting’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I did,” Jin smiles again, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Aw, you got him blushing!” Jisoo grins as Jimin pokes Jin in the cheek.

“How cute,” Jimin teases.

“It’s nice seeing people actually taking an interest,” Jin responds indignantly, but he doesn’t hide the smile on his face. He’s starting to decide he really likes Jungkook.

“It’s only because he hasn’t hung around you enough to realise you literally talk about it all the time,” Rosé replies, taking the laptop from Jungkook and scrolling through the pictures. “You’ve got a couple new ones since I last looked, actually.”

“Only a couple?” Jin asks. “I’ve been updating pretty regular over summer.” Then he grins triumphantly. “You’ve been following my blog! You told me that you didn’t care and yet here you are, admitting it accidentally.”

“I only looked at it when I was bored,” Rosé grumbles.

Jungkook frowns at her, wondering why she’s so against showing nice gestures towards her friends. Jimin seems to notice the look on his face because he nudges Jungkook and explains, “She insults everyone all the time, but that’s how you know she cares. If she doesn’t say something mean then that’s how you know she’s not paying attention at all, so really an insult is a compliment. You get used to it, really.”

“I can still hear you, you know,” Rosé looks at him pointedly.

“Good – then you know that I’m telling the truth,” Jimin grins back.

“So anyway, Jin’s been busy working on his blog all summer,” Rosé states, changing the subject. Jimin smiles fondly and lets it slide. “What have you been up to, Jisoo?”

Jisoo smirks at Rosé, the both of them knowing that they’ve been talking all over summer and really have no catching up to do. But Jisoo replies regardless, realising that Rosé is desperate to change the subject from being about her and her own emotional issues. “I’ve been chatting to a lot of guys,” she responds diligently.

“Like who?” Jin asks, interested in Jisoo’s choices this year. Last summer she seemed to have a theme of going for guys with goatees and long braided hair – not exactly his preferred look but Jisoo seemed to have a thing for them. But as soon as she passed the phase of liking that look on people, she dumped all of them in one go.

“I’ve been a little more adventurous this year,” Jisoo acknowledges. “I thought I’d try and date as many different types of people as I could, seeing as the whole look-based thing hasn’t worked that well for me so far.” Jimin nods his head at her reasoning, impressed with her newfound maturity. “So far I’ve been out with a dancer, an accountant, an exchange student from Thailand, some guy who called himself a YouTuber but actually only had 50 subscribers who were all his friends – yeah, that didn’t last – and some cute university student.”

Jin raises his eyebrows – definitely not what he was expecting. “You’ve definitely been more adventurous,” he agrees.

“Yeah, but I still find all of them so incredibly dull,” she groans. “The uni student was promising – he was studying physics and was so smart but then that also made me feel kind of dumb. Like, when I confessed I didn’t really understand the point of an atom, he started going on about electrons and atomic shells and how important it all was and I’m like, does it really matter? It’s not like we can actually see into it and check anyway? I think that kind of got on his nerves a bit though and we stopped seeing each other after that.”

“Seems dramatic,” Jimin comments.

“You can say that again.” Jisoo lets out a long-suffering sigh before reaching into her bag and grabbing a wine bottle. “Who’s ready to crack this open?”

“Hey, I said no wine!” Jin complains.

“Oh yeah, remember last time when Jimin got drunk and started dancing around and pouring the red wine onto the carpet, yelling ‘the rain’s changed colour!’? Good times, good times,” Rosé giggles delightedly.

“You guys,” Jimin protests, hiding his face behind his hands. “We promised we would never speak of that again.” He hops off the bed to hide his embarrassment, reaching into his bag to pull out some rollers. As he starts to fix them in his hair Rosé stifles a laugh. Jisoo takes the distraction as an opportunity to try and pull out the cork from the wine bottle, but Jin fixes her with a stern look.

“Put it away, Jisoo,” he says firmly. She sticks her tongue out at him but does as she’s told.

“We can always sneak it into the bathroom,” she whispers conspiratorially to Rosé, who nods her head in approval, before hurrying back into the bathroom to finally finish off her makeup. (Jungkook doesn’t really understand what she’s dressing up for, but the last time he asked a girl why she was wearing makeup, it really didn’t go down well, so he’s endeavoured never to ask such a question again.)

 

***

 

“Guys,” Hani whines, resting her head on the table dramatically. “It’s Saturday night and we’re all just stuck here with each other. Can’t we _do_ anything?”

“It’s not our fault you finished your milkshake first and got bored,” Suga replies, rolling his eyes at Hani’s antics. He’s still sipping on his chocolate shake as Hani stretches her arms out across the table in front of her and knocks it over. There’s a loud clattering sound as the glass falls on its side, J-Hope picking it up before it can roll onto the floor. A couple of the waitresses look over to see what’s happened and one of them fetches a mop from a nearby cupboard. Hani also looks up at the sound, smiling guiltily as she sees Suga’s remaining chocolate sludge drip disappointedly onto the floor.

Suga shoots Hani a glare. “You’re paying for that,” he mutters.

“Fine, whatever,” she groans as V passes her a couple napkins to clean up the spilt milkshake. “Seriously, can’t we do something?” she persists.

“We were all doing just fine, thank you,” Suga grumbles. J-Hope pushes his banana milkshake over to Suga, who starts sipping it wordlessly.

“You’re right,” J-Hope agrees reluctantly. “The café’s only so interesting.” He grins at V. “What do you say we do, Idea Man?” The three of them watch V expectantly, waiting in anticipation until V shrugs in defeat.

“What’s up with him?” Hani hisses, but they ignore her.

“Rosé mentioned a sleepover at Jin’s house – maybe we could crash,” J-Hope suggests.

“Jin’s house? You mean the one with pink walls and a pink carpet?” Suga asks, raising an eyebrow.

“You got any better ideas?” J-Hope challenges.

LE walks over with a mop, rolling her eyes at the others. “Are you guys deliberately making a mess just because I’m on shift?” she scowls as she starts to clean up the mess on the floor.

“LE, what time do you get off tonight?” Hani asks her, ignoring the jab.

“9pm, why?” she asks warily.

“Brilliant! Once you’re finished here we’re gonna drop in on the Pink Ladies,” Hani grins. “They’re sleeping round at Jin’s – Rosé said.”

“Why would Rosé tell you what she’s doing? She doesn’t like you,” LE says nonchalantly, still focused on her mopping duty.

“She told J-Hope, you idiot. Why would she tell me?” she scoffs. “And anyway, she hates you even more. That’s why it’ll be so funny when we turn up,” she giggles.

“What do you say? You in?” J-Hope grins.

“Sure, why not,” LE chuckles, amused at the thought of Rosé looking forward to seeing J-Hope and then realising that the rest of them are there too.

“Who’s gonna be there?” V asks quietly. Hani looks up in surprise – he hasn’t said much since they’ve been at the café. In fact, he’s been a bit off all week and Hani hopes that his personality hasn’t drastically changed over summer so that he no longer gets along well with her and the others. A couple months away don’t usually affect people so drastically, but Hani knows from her psychological studies that life can affect people in peculiar ways.

J-Hope looks over at V, also surprised. “Um, Rosé, Jin obviously, and I’m guessing Jimin and Jisoo too. Oh, and –” He snaps his fingers. “What’s that new guy’s name again?”

“Jungkook?” Hani supplies helpfully.

“Yeah, that’s the one. I’m pretty sure he’ll be there. Actually, I’m pretty sure he’s the reason Rosé told me about it in the first place – think she wanted me to get her out of having to spend an evening in his company,” J-Hope smirks.

V feels his hands curling into fists at the thought of someone being so horrible about Jungkook and he quickly hides his hands underneath the table.

“Why? He seems perfectly nice to me,” Hani comments innocently.

“Exactly,” LE laughs. “That’s probably why Rosé can’t stand him.”

“I think I’ll pass,” V announces, putting a £5 note on the table and shrugging on his jacket. “Got more important things to do than hang out with you dorks.” With that, he strides out of the café, leaving the others to watch after him with frowns on their faces.

“Typical,” LE comments. The others nod in agreement, although they’re all secretly relieved. Even if it’s because he thinks he’s too cool for the other T-Birds, at least he’s finally acting like himself again.

 

***

 

An hour or so later, the sleepover is in full swing and they’ve all changed into their pyjamas. Jungkook’s starting to think maybe people’s fashion choices say more about their character than he thought – Jimin’s dressed in silk while Jin is lounging in his dressing gown. Jisoo on the other hand is sporting a fancy nightie which was a gift from one of her boyfriends abroad, whilst Rosé is wearing a figure-hugging dress and black tights which seem fitter for a night out than for bedtime. Jungkook wonders whether she secretly has other plans for tonight after all.

“Hey, want another beer, Jungkook?” Rosé suggests with a smile. She’s seated on the other side of the room but that doesn’t seem to stop her from walking over to him and passing him a new can before he has a chance to refuse.

“Um. Thanks,” he gulps, opening the can under Rosé’s intimidating glare and taking a sip. He struggles not to screw up his face in disgust. He likes to think he’s not bothered about people’s opinions of him, but he doesn’t want Rosé to think he’s a wimp who can’t even handle a can of beer. He wonders whether she realises that the still-almost-full can a couple metres away is also his.

Come to think of it, she definitely knows.

“Hey, Jungkook,” Jimin calls from the other side of the room. “Does some of your family live in Hull? Jisoo’s telling me you were there a few months ago.”

“I actually think she misunderstood –” Jungkook starts, but he’s interrupted by a ring of the doorbell.

Jin hops up and out of the room to answer the door as the others fall silent, hoping to hear what’s happening. They hear Jin asking, “What are you guys doing here?” before a loud, energetic voice calls, “We’re here to crash the party!”

“J-Hope’s here,” Jisoo says, rolling her eyes.

“And the rest of them, by the sounds of it,” Rosé frowns as footsteps are heard heading towards the room. Jungkook suddenly feels very insecure in his Iron Man pyjamas.

J-Hope, Suga, Le and Hani all burst into the room, followed by a disgruntled Jin who seems to have failed in getting them to take off their shoes while they’re inside the house.

“Nice hair,” Suga comments as he notices the pink rollers Jimin has in.

Jimin freezes at the comment, his neck turning red in embarrassment. “Thanks,” he mutters.

Jungkook turns towards the door but there’s definitely nobody else coming through. “Where’s V?” he asks before he can stop himself.

“Didn’t want to come,” Hani responds.

“Not the first time,” Rosé calls from the other side of the room, but they both pretend not to hear her.

“He obviously thinks he’s far too cool for us lot,” Hani continues, plopping herself down on the bed next to Jungkook.

“Obviously,” he agrees sadly.

Hani takes the beer from Jungkook’s hand and starts chugging it down, which he’s actually very thankful for because now he doesn’t have to run the risk of being handed a third can without having consumed the first or second. “He’s probably gone home to chill with his new girlfriend,” Hani shrugs as she passes Jungkook the empty beer can. (What she expects him to do with it he really does not know.)

“His… what?” Jungkook responds, as eloquently as usual. He’s not entirely sure whether he feels jealous, betrayed or just plain confused.

“Oh yeah, he was telling us about this girl he pulled over summer. What were his exact words?” she looks to LE for guidance.

“I believe it was ‘seriously hot but with an aura of innocence’,” LE smirks in reply.

It seems clear that LE and Hani find V’s description purely entertaining, but Jungkook feels himself blushing before he can stop it.

“She sounds nice,” he chokes out.

“Dude, you’ve gone all red, are you okay?” Hani asks urgently, fussing over him.

“Oh, he does that,” Jisoo calls over. “I thought there was something wrong with him at first but I’m pretty sure he just scares easily.”

“What could he possibly be scared of out of what we’ve mentioned?” LE laughs. “Innocence? Warmth? Girlfriends?”

“Oh, probably that!” Jimin calls out. “He’s gay.” He then turns to Jungkook, realising that he’s only assumed this piece of information after hearing his summer romance story. “You are gay, right?”

“Erm, yeah,” Jungkook nods awkwardly, looking around nervously and waiting for someone to take offence at his sexuality.  When they all just shrug and move on with their lives, Jungkook feels an invisible weight lift off his chest.

“So, what are you guys planning for tonight?” Rosé asks J-Hope, shooting him a dazzling smile.

“Well, we’re currently _here_ , in case you hadn’t noticed,” LE sneers.

“Shut up, I wasn’t talking to you,” Rosé snaps back.

“We actually didn’t have any other plans for tonight,” J-Hope confirms with a grin. “But it looks like you might.” He gestures to her outfit, noticing that she’s basically ready for a night out clubbing once she puts on some heels.

“Checking me out, are we?” Rosé smirks.

“So what if I am?” J-Hope smirks back.

“Stop it you guys, I’m not in the mood,” Jimin huffs loudly.

“What’s got your knickers in a twist?” Suga asks curiously, glancing up at Jimin.

Jimin turns away from Suga determinedly, muttering under his breath, “I wear boxers, _actually_.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Suga smirks, causing Jimin’s neck to turn red again as he stands up and stutters out an excuse of needing to go brush his teeth.

“It’s only 10pm; we haven’t even had our midnight snacks yet!” Jisoo calls after Jimin gleefully, before she shoots Suga a conspiratorial grin which he resolutely ignores. “Anyway Rosé, what _are_ you all dressed up for?” Jisoo asks, directing her attention at her best friend who scowls in response.

It’s clear to Rosé that Jisoo is in the mood for stirring up trouble tonight and, while fun to laugh at other people’s discomfort, Rosé most certainly does not enjoy being on the receiving end. “There’s no harm in wanting to look nice,” she defends hotly.

“Oh, I forgot you always dressed like this at sleepovers,” Jisoo says in exaggerated realisation, slapping herself in the forehead with a self-deprecating laugh. “What a klutz.”

“Shut it, Chu,” Rosé hisses.

“Were you headed out somewhere?” Hani asks interestedly.

Rosé shrugs nonchalantly before staring surreptitious daggers at Jisoo.

“Hey, we were thinking about hitting some clubs later, wanna join?” J-Hope grins, the suggestion coming to him on the spur of the moment.

“Sure!” Rosé responds maybe a little too quickly.

“Aren’t you too young?” Jungkook asks innocently.

“Ah Jungkook, unbeknownst to the ways of the Fake ID,” J-Hope announces wistfully.

“Why are you being weird,” Suga mutters as Jimin reappears in the doorway.

“Says the guy who actually uses the expression ‘knickers in a twist’,” J-Hope shoots back. Jimin, stood unnoticed on the threshold, finds himself blushing again. But after taking a deep breath he gathers the courage to confidently walk back in.

“Hang on, V won’t be there, right?” Rosé asks slightly apprehensively. Jimin’s step falters, unsure of whether he wants to enter into this conversation. As brazen as Rosé acts around her ex-boyfriend, things aren’t exactly smooth sailing between them. And nope, it’s definitely not because she feels bitter about being dumped.

“Please!” Hani laughs. “It’s not like V’s gonna pick up any 97-liners at a club, right? Not everyone can afford to be as fake as you, Rosé.” Hani’s waves her legitimate ID in the air with a flourish, making it clear what ‘fakeness’ she’s referring to, but Rosé doesn’t miss the double meaning. She scowls at Hani.

“What are you talking about?” Jungkook questions cluelessly.

“I meant about the ID…” Hani pouts, but LE pinches her and whispers “I don’t think that’s what he’s asking.”

Jimin shoots Rosé a sympathetic look. “It’s nothing personal to any of them, really. V just has a bit of a habit of, well…” He looks at Rosé again and gulps.

“He always dates younger people – usually born in 97, for some reason, no one knows why – plays with their feelings a bit, leads them on and then chucks them, just to do the same thing with someone else,” LE explains straight-forwardly when Jimin seems incapable of continuing. Jungkook feels something deep within him sink down to his feet and stay there. But no – that can’t possibly be the same as what happened between him and Taehyung. That was _real_.

That was real, wasn’t it?

Jimin looks down, feeling incredibly awkward about them having to explain the situation whilst one of V’s ex-girlfriends is sitting in the same room. “No offence Rosé,” he mutters weakly.

“Whatever,” Rosé rolls her eyes, trying to mask the hurt hidden behind them. “Nothing personal, as you said. Are we headed out or what?”

“Yeah, come on guys, let’s get going,” J-Hope says with a tense smile, gesturing for his friends to get up and join him.

“We only just got here!” Hani protests, but she quiets down when Suga shoots her a warning look.

J-Hope puts his arm around Rosé’s shoulders once she’s put on her high heels and they walk out without a further word. Suga and LE follow, with Hani trailing behind as she waves goodbye to the Pink Ladies.

“Well, that was eventful,” Jin announces after closing the front door behind them all.

“We lost a Pink Lady,” Jisoo whines, upset at how her best friend has just deserted her without a second thought. (Now that Jisoo thinks about it, Rosé seemed to have planned her escape, which is more hurtful than she’d like to acknowledge.)

“Stop moping,” Jimin hushes. “I know how to spruce up tonight anyway!” he grins, pulling out a box of hair dye from his bag of mysteries.

“Shotgun not me!!” Jin and Jisoo both call in horrified unison whilst Jungkook is, rather reluctantly, left once more in the hands of Beauty Guru Jimin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO WHO ELSE IS DEAD AFTER THE NOT TODAY MV


	4. turn in your teasing comb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimin dyed Jungkook’s hair purple and everyone finds it very interesting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a lil bit shorter than the other two but I hope you like it ^.^ Chapter 5 will be longer again, just cause I wasn't quite sure how to cut the sections together so I added this chapter in as like an interlude haha
> 
> As I'm typing this, JK's we don't talk anymore full cover has just been uploaded and his voICE IM DYING

Along with a new week of school, Monday brings Jungkook the opportunity to clear up something that he’s been feeling more than a little anxious about.

“Wait, so you guys, you’re… you’re really okay with me being gay?” he asks the other Pink Ladies as they’re sitting down for lunch.

“Are you kidding?” Rosé laughs. “Jungkook, babe, no one cares. Honestly, I swear I’m the only straight one here.”

Immediately Jisoo springs into a counterattack.

“Oh, please,” Rosé dismisses her. “She’s a lesbian in denial,” she whispers conspiratorially to Jungkook, who shakes his head vehemently.

“You can’t just force a sexuality on someone,” he insists. “If she says she’s straight, then she’s straight, as far as the rest of you are concerned.”

“I like this one,” Jisoo decides, proffering her hand for a high five. Jungkook cluelessly waves back.

“You haven’t seen the way she acts around girls,” Rosé argues, but still she drops the subject.

Unfortunately, Monday also brings a lot of unwanted attention for Jungkook. Needless to say, his freshly-dyed bright purple hair is not exactly helping him slip under the radar.

And Jungkook’s day, which has already been full of stares (some admiring, some curious, but all unnecessary in Jungkook’s opinion), is made miles more uncomfortable when he and Jimin are walking down the hallway and run into Suga, who decides it’s the perfect time to initiate his first conversation with Jungkook.

“Nice hair,” Suga smirks, eyeing Jungkook mockingly. At Jungkook’s stunned silence he sarcastically continues “Were you going for fluorescent purple to match your bright personality?”

Jungkook opens his mouth, then closes it, then repeats this routine a few times as he struggles for something to say.

“We had a bit of a problem with how long to leave the dye in…” Jimin explains nervously.

“By ‘we’ do you mean ‘you’?” Suga asks. His expression seems dead serious if not for the mirth swimming in his eyes.

“People are meant to make mistakes; it’s how we learn,” Jimin defends himself stubbornly, pulling Jungkook by the elbow and turning him in the opposite direction.

Suga flat-out laughs at this. “Alright, bye Jimin. Later, Goldy,” he adds to Jungkook as he walks away from them. Jimin shakes his head disappointedly, apologising to Jungkook because Suga doesn’t know when making fun of people stops being funny and starts being mean.

“But – why did he call me Goldy?” Jungkook asks interestedly. “My hair’s purple, not blonde.”

“Um…” Jimin hesitates, squirming under Jungkook’s gaze. “I think he was calling you a goldfish,” he admits, his face apologetic. As Jungkook still seems none the wiser, he adds, “Because you didn’t say anything, and kept moving your mouth with no sounds coming out, and – yeah.” Jungkook frowns to himself, trying not to let the new nickname upset him. He’s been called much worse before anyway.

 

***

 

“Hey, have you guys seen Jungkook’s hair?” Suga asks as joins Hani and LE at lunch.

“Is it different?” LE asks.

“No, I just wondered if you guys had noticed he wasn’t bald,” Suga says sarcastically.

“Alright,” Hani groans, stepping in before things escalate into an argument. “What did he do to it?” she asks Suga.

“He let Jimin near it, that’s what,” Suga rolls his eyes.

“Okay, but what did _Jimin_ do to it?” LE says insistently. Not that she really cares; it’s just that Suga can be quite avoidant and it’s mildly irritating.

“What are we talking about?” V asks as he and J-Hope join the others at the lunch table. V pinches a chip from Hani’s plate and she scowls at him.

“Jungkook’s hair,” LE replies flippantly and V chokes on his chip.

“That was smooth,” J-Hope chuckles once he’s sure that V isn’t actually about to die.

“I always am,” V grins toothily. “Is that really a subject interesting enough for discussion though?”

“He changed his hair colour and it looks weird,” Suga responds disinterestedly, also pinching one of Hani’s chips.

“What is your problem?” she demands grouchily, but they all ignore her.

“What colour?” J-Hope asks curiously.

“Purple, I guess? It’s not too obvious until it catches the light,” Suga replies. He takes another chip off Hani’s plate and she hits him on the hand.

“You have your own,” she laments.

“Fine, I’ll eat LE’s instead,” Suga says in resignation.

“That doesn’t even make sense!” Hani complains. Suga grins at her outburst and Hani rolls her eyes, the realisation only just coming to her that Suga is deliberately winding her up. (It’s working.) “Anyway, I think purple hair can suit some people,” Hani says decisively, bringing the other T-Birds’ attention back to the important matter at hand.

“Who ever suits purple hair?” Suga scoffs.

“Hey, I had purple hair for a while!” V protests.

“It was lilac, that’s different,” Suga argues.

“Lilac is a shade of purple, you twit,” V responds amicably.

“No it’s not! Everyone knows they’re separate. You learn colours in primary school, oh my God. You’ve got red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and then… Oh. Shit,” Suga curses in realisation.

“Mate, did you really just forget the colours of the rainbow?” V says disapprovingly.

“Why do they have two shades of purple in there anyway? It’s just confusing,” he grumbles.

“So you admit they’re all shades of purple then?” V grins.

“Shut up, I don’t like you,” Suga mutters. V simply laughs.

“Why do we have conversations like this?” LE comments offhandedly. “Of all the things to be discussing – really? Colours? Why do I hang out with you guys?”

“Because you love us,” J-Hope grins. LE simply rolls her eyes.

“Hey, talking of which, didn’t one of your girlfriends have purple hair?” Hani asks V.

“Who? Oh, Mina? It was more of a red, I think,” V shrugs.

“No, that’s not who I meant…” Hani frowns in thought.

“Oh, do you mean Yoonsun?” J-Hope asks.

“No, hers was pink,” Hani scoffs.

“It looked like bubblegum,” Suga says wistfully.

“Are you talking about Jihyo, maybe?” J-Hope continues as he steals one of Hani’s chicken nuggets.

“That was also red,” LE snorts, while Hani picks up her plate from the table and hugs it close to her chest so that no one can steal any more of her food.

“V, why do you have to have a thing for the eccentric types?” J-Hope asks accusingly.

“It’s just hair,” V sighs, reaching out again towards Hani’s plate. She defensively hides it under the table. “It’s not my fault you can’t remember which girlfriend dyed it purple.”

“Well it would be easier if there weren’t so many to choose from,” LE rolls her eyes.

V chuckles. “You jealous?” he asks as he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Of what? Your ability to hold onto a date for less than a month at a time? No thanks,” LE laughs.

“I was going out with Rosé for longer than that,” V argues.

“Yeah, and that ended _so_ well,” LE says sarcastically. J-Hope stiffens slightly, but the others don’t notice.

“You have been with a lot of people,” Hani considers. “Do you regret dating any of them?” she asks curiously.

“I regret dating most of them,” V answers without thinking it through.

“That’s kinda harsh,” Suga comments. “Some of them seemed alright.”

“Hence why I said ‘ _most_ of them’,” V defends, feeling a little put out.

“No wonder Rosé feels so insecure around you, when you talk about your exes like that,” J-Hope snaps. The others look at him, shocked by the sudden outburst.

“Rosé? Insecure?” Hani questions with raised eyebrows. “We are talking about the same person, right? The one with way too much confidence?”

“Why do you care so much, J-Hope?” Suga asks curiously. “I thought you guys were just hooking up.”

“We’re not hooking up. We’re just talking more than we used to,” J-Hope says quietly.

“Is someone catching feelings?” Hani grins cheekily.

“We’re already friends,” J-Hope rolls his eyes. “That’s it, I swear.”

“Sure,” LE smirks, but they all swiftly move on.

 

***

 

On Tuesday morning, before the bell goes to signal the start of the school day, V heads to the performing arts department to ask his teacher for some help on his assignment. Although he may not be a model student in all his subjects, he wants to work hard when it comes to Drama because it’s the one thing he’s really interested in.

He’s still lowkey annoyed at his parents for telling him he couldn’t take both Drama and Music – they were in favour of him picking more academic subjects, but Biology is seriously the bane of his life this year. Fortunately his Drama teacher also teaches Music and will often share some of the more interesting aspects of the syllabus with V, so that way he doesn’t feel quite so left out. (Not that he would tell anyone about that, of course.)

V still thinks it’s slightly unfair for his teacher to set a big project in the first month back to school, but he supposes that year 13 life is meant to be as stressful as humanly possible. Luckily, after some detailed explanations that take a little longer to go over than expected, V feels like he’s back on track.

The morning bell is probably about to go and the science department is at the opposite end of the school, but V really isn’t all too bothered about missing the first ten minutes of Biology. He probably wouldn’t understand it even if he was there, so nothing lost. He picks up his backpack from the desk and thanks the teacher as he moves to exit the classroom, resolving to make a note of her advice during Biology – he swears that he’ll smash this Drama A Level whatever it takes.

However, the thoughts of studying hard, remembering his teacher’s pointers and even getting to class go completely out of his mind when he sees Jungkook poking his head around the door. V freezes in his tracks, panicked about what to do. He hasn’t seen Jungkook since Thursday, when he pretended to hardly know the boy, and V still has no idea what to say to him.

“Jungkook, come in!” the teacher grins, so Jungkook enters hesitantly.

“Hi… I know I’m a little early,” Jungkook mumbles.

“That’s okay, take a seat,” she smiles kindly. Jungkook obediently walks to one of the desks at the front of the classroom, at which point the sunlight catches his hair through one of the windows. V understands all of a sudden what Suga was on about – Jungkook really looks ethereal. The bright colour brings more attention to his facial features, which are practically flawless as they are. The new look is wonderful on him.

V doesn’t realise he’s staring until the teacher looks towards him again in confusion, probably wondering why he hasn’t left yet.

Then her expression brightens up and she turns back towards Jungkook excitedly, an idea brewing. “Jungkook, have you met V?” she asks. “He’s one of my Drama students – he’s a very good actor and has a lot of performance practice.” She turns back to V, who smiles tightly. “Jungkook here is one of my year 12 Music students. He seems very talented in his vocal abilities from what I’ve seen so far, but he’s very shy and needs a bit of a confidence boost. Maybe you could give him some tips on how to let loose and come out of his shell a little?”

Jungkook watches V carefully, deciding to remain silent until he can gauge V’s reaction. But there isn’t much time to gauge a reaction because V, in a somewhat ironic display of shyness and uncertainty, escapes out of the door without a single word to either of them.

The teacher watches in surprise as V hurries away. “I’m sorry,” she apologises to Jungkook, completely perplexed. “I’ve seen him be dismissive of other students, but he’s not usually so disrespectful towards me.” She sighs tiredly and Jungkook wants to tell her not to worry – that she’s not the person who should be apologising.

“It’s okay. Maybe some other time,” he finds himself saying instead.

“Yes, indeed. Perhaps he’ll be more willing to talk to you when he doesn’t have so much on his mind; year 13 is very mentally demanding. Although, between us,” she continues with a twinkle in her eyes, “we teachers notice a lot about our students’ interactions with their classmates. Dare I say that unless you’re a female student, he’s probably unlikely to pay you any attention,” she chuckles.

The bell goes before Jungkook can confirm what she means by the statement. Soon enough, the rest of the class filters into the classroom and Jungkook is left questioning everything that happened over summer. Throughout the lesson he’s unable to concentrate on how the Baroque ornaments in the set work reflect the composer’s thoughts, instead preoccupied with his own thoughts about just how talented an actor V really is.

 

***

 

By the time Wednesday comes around, Jungkook is positive that V is ignoring him. At the beginning of the week he considered that perhaps they simply hadn’t crossed paths, but after yesterday’s events Jungkook won’t avoid the truth any longer. So when the bell rings for lunch, Jungkook resolves to ask Jimin about how much of LE’s description on V’s dating habits is actually true.

“Hey, Jimin,” Jungkook begins when he spots Jimin waiting outside Jungkook’s classroom. They start the walk to the canteen and Jungkook takes a subtle deep breath before diving in headfirst. “Is it really true what LE said at the sleepover last weekend, about how V only ever dates people born in 1997?”

Jimin laughs, amused by the randomness of the question. “I don’t know him all that well, Jungkook.”

Jungkook frowns. “It just seems like a weird set of criteria for a b-” He coughs. “…for a girlfriend. I mean, I guess Jisoo has specifics on who to date, from the sounds of it? But a particular year, I mean. That’s just odd.”

“Well I doubt they were all 97-liners,” Jimin says conversationally. “It’s probably just a trait the majority of them shared, rather than a set of criteria. But I do know that he’s only ever dated younger people.” Jimin pauses in consideration. “I guess he likes having the upper hand and messing them about a bit. Kinda makes sense when you think how all his friends are older – he probably feels like the underdog when he’s with them.”

Jungkook blanches. “But surely…” He trails off, not knowing how to justify his blatant unacceptance of Jimin’s reasoning. He decides to change tack. “His friends seem to adore him though.”

“Sure, but they also tease him a lot. Jungkook, why are you so obsessed with V?” Jimin asks suddenly, turning to face Jungkook.

“Obsessed?” Jungkook repeats, eyes wide as he stops in his tracks.

“Sorry,” he says, looking at Jungkook guiltily. “That’s probably a bit of a strong word to use. But you do seem to want to know a lot about him,” Jimin shrugs, before he continues walking. Jungkook warily falls back into step with him. “By the way, you do realise you could just ask him yourself, right?”

“He doesn’t seem to want to talk to me,” Jungkook mumbles, and it’s true. Since Rosé reintroduced them in the parking lot last week, V has made every effort to not go near Jungkook. He tries to ignore how much it hurts.

“He’ll come around eventually,” Jimin says consolingly. “Maybe he’s just shy around new people.”

“Shy?” Jungkook scoffs, remembering how bubbly and full-on V was when Jungkook first met him.

“True,” Jimin laughs. “A lot of people actually think he has too much confidence – I’m not sure why I’m trying to make excuses for him. Anyway, come on, let’s grab some food and find where the others are sitting.”

 

***

 

Despite Jungkook’s new appearance attracting a lot of attention from people he doesn’t care about, it takes until the end of the week before Taehyung acknowledges anything’s changed.

On that fateful Friday afternoon, Taehyung catches Jungkook as he’s walking out of the school gates, headed back home. “Hey, Jungkook,” Taehyung says quietly. It’s not much but it effectively captures Jungkook’s attention.

“Hey yourself,” he replies, his smile tight and forced. Taehyung winces.

“I noticed your hair’s different,” Taehyung starts and Jungkook wonders whether he’s always been this awkward; maybe Jungkook is just so incredibly awkward that he never noticed Taehyung has a similar side to him.

“Yeah, Jimin decided to play around with some hair dye. It didn’t go exactly to plan…” Jungkook fidgets under Taehyung’s gaze. “I know it looks kind of weird.”

“No! You look good. I mean,” Taehyung blushes – an uncommon occurrence. “I think it looks good. The colour really suits you.”

“Oh. Thanks,” Jungkook responds, his voice small, unsure of how to respond to the compliment.

“Uh…” Taehyung begins after a pause, clearly struggling for words, and Jungkook tries not to seem surprised at this role reversal. Taehyung then sighs, a deep and frustrated sigh as if this past week has just been too much for him – and really, it has. “Look, can we talk?”

Jungkook looks directly at Taehyung, the boy who he fell for over summer and the boy who was maybe just using him the whole time. “I’m not sure what we have to talk about. I’ve been here for over a week and you’ve done nothing but determinedly ignore me,” Jungkook shoots back, annoyance colouring his tone.

Taehyung looks around in panic before pulling Jungkook by the wrist down an empty street. “I know – and I’m sorry about that. I just didn’t know what to say. Can’t you let me explain?” He looks around nervously again, checking that they’re alone. “You know you… this summer meant a lot to me,” he says sadly.

“Really?” Jungkook scoffs. “Are you sure that you’re not playing around with me, just to throw me aside like you do with all your other dates?” He knows he’s being petty, but really. Taehyung had a week to come to him and apologise. Taehyung even has his phone number and could’ve texted him to explain, but Jungkook received nothing. No explanation, no apology, no ‘can we still be friends’ – nothing.

“What?” Taehyung asks, evidently confused. “Who told you that?”

“Your friends, actually. On the night at Jin’s where you didn’t show.” He tries not to let his disappointment filter into his voice, but it doesn’t work.

Taehyung looks at him softly. “I… I didn’t want to see you, being like that again. I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Well it’s a little late for that,” Jungkook huffs.

Taehyung rolls his eyes at this. “Stop being so dramatic. That time I saw you again, it was a five second interaction and I bet you’ve already worked out why I behaved like that,” he snaps. “Come _on_ ,” he pleads when Jungkook makes to leave. Taehyung looks around him, seemingly for inspiration. “Okay. How’s this. Do you know how many of my friends know my real name?”

Jungkook counts up the T-Birds in his head, adding on Rosé and a couple more potential ex-girlfriends, just for good measure. “I don’t know, like six, maybe more?”

“One,” Taehyung corrects him. “And it’s you.”

“Okay that’s ridiculous,” Jungkook sputters. “You really expect me to believe you didn’t even tell your best friends what your name was?”

“We’re really not that close…” Taehyung shrugs his shoulders helplessly.

“Well what about Rosé?” Jungkook continues. “You were dating for what, six months? And you’re trying to tell me that your name didn’t come up even once?”

Taehyung pauses, looking down at his feet. “She wasn’t special,” he mumbles under his breath.

Jungkook’s heart stops for a second at the inadvertent admission. _He’s special._

When Taehyung is met with nothing but silence, he looks up nervously at Jungkook. But luckily Jungkook is smiling softly at him and Taehyung takes this as his cue to grab Jungkook’s hands shyly, threading their fingers together. “Please believe me when I say I’m sorry. I know I acted like a dick but I’m so used to it, I don’t know how else to be,” Taehyung admits sheepishly. “This summer was the most like myself I’ve ever felt, and I really don’t want to lose that. Or you. Especially you.” He seems really shy in this moment, the nerves getting the better of him, which Jungkook finds amusing considering Taehyung was always the overly confident one whenever they spent time together over summer.

Jungkook notes how apprehensive Taehyung seems about his response – and he could try to stay mad at him but, well, he knows a lost cause when he sees one. “Okay,” Jungkook agrees easily. Taehyung’s eyes widen and Jungkook finds himself laughing. “Okay,” Jungkook repeats, grinning at Taehyung’s shocked expression. “You’ve convinced me. You’re forgiven. It’s all good.”

“Wait, really?” Taehyung asks, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “Oh my gosh okay. So. Do you wanna go out? Like – on a date? Properly?” He stumbles over his words a little and Jungkook finds it kind of endearing.

“Were none of those dates at the beach _proper_ enough for you?” he teases.

“Let me take you out – my treat,” Taehyung says, ignoring Jungkook’s jibe. “Hey, there’s this café just down from school that’s really cool, my friends hang out there a lot. They have the best vanilla ice cream sundaes – I think you’ll like it,” he smiles cutely, pulling Jungkook along the street. As Jungkook’s walking along (or being dragged along, more like) he pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to his mum to tell her he’ll be late back home.


	5. just keep your cool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook and Taehyung go on a date!

Taehyung and Jungkook walk hand in hand down the street, chatting and laughing about the most ridiculous things – “Wait, but you’re telling me they don’t sell bubblegum ice lollies in this café place? Then why do you even _go_ there?!” – but once they reach a busier part of town, Taehyung lets go of his hand. Jungkook looks over at him, smiling, because _it’s okay_. If Taehyung isn’t ready for people to know yet, then he’s not ready. Jungkook definitely wishes that his own decision to tell people at school wasn’t something he was essentially forced into. Taehyung smiles back at him; a silent thank you for understanding.

When they reach the café, Taehyung pulls Jungkook to the back and sits down at a table for two. It’s one of the more secluded spots in the café and this detail is not lost on Jungkook.

“Nice table,” he smirks knowingly.

Taehyung hits him on the arm. “Shut up and look at the menu,” he laughs, opening up the menu on the table and twisting it round for Jungkook to see. “They do simple meals here as well, but I tend to go for the snacks,” he explains, pointing out the different options on the menu. “Although they do make a mean serving of chips – why are you looking at me like that?”

Jungkook smiles widely. “No reason. Just glad that fate brought us back together, that’s all.”

“Wow. That’s definitely the cheesiest thing you’ve said so far,” Taehyung chuckles. “But. Me too, I guess.”

“You guess?” Jungkook repeats, insulted. “You mean you’re not sure?”

“Shut up, you know what I meant,” Taehyung smiles. “Wait. Hang on, are you wearing earrings? How have I only just noticed this?! I swear you didn’t have your ears pierced…”

Jungkook laughs at Taehyung’s distraught expression. “I didn’t. Jimin did them for me at the sleepover last weekend and I’m not allowed to take them out until 3 months have passed or something. Kind of inconvenient but there you go,” he shrugs.

“They’re not inconvenient; they’re really pretty,” Taehyung corrects, reaching his hand over to poke at the silver stud.

“Thanks for poking me in the ear, Tae,” Jungkook mutters, but he doesn’t swat his hand away.

“Seriously though,” Taehyung smirks. “I thought maybe you’d had earrings all summer and I hadn’t even noticed. I thought I was going crazy.”

“Well they have been in all week and you only just noticed,” Jungkook points out, his eyes twinkling. “Plus we’ve been with each other for about 20 minutes and you didn’t see them until just now.”

“20 minutes, huh? Not that you’re keeping track or anything,” Taehyung grins, knowing that Jungkook is enjoying every minute they spend together.

“No, definitely not,” Jungkook grins back, knowing that Taehyung feels the same way.

They sit there staring at each other for a minute until a waitress interrupts the moment. “Hello, my name is Solji and I shall be your server today. What can I get for you?” The two boys look up to see a beautiful young woman with auburn hair waiting to take their order.

Jungkook looks to Taehyung in panic. Needless to say, he hasn’t really been focusing on the menu.

“One vanilla ice cream sundae please, with two spoons,” Taehyung chirps. He winks at the waitress as she hurries away.

“Do you always wink at people?” Jungkook asks, bemused.

V smirks. “Yeah. It’s kind of reflex now.”

“Really makes you look cool,” Jungkook deadpans as he looks interestedly at the menu.

“Hey, you’re not allowed to make fun of me like that!” Taehyung complains, snatching the menu from Jungkook’s fingers and folding it up again. “You should be nice to me. I’m giving you _food_.”

“Food doesn’t solve everything,” Jungkook protests, to which Taehyung scowls determinedly. Jungkook rolls his eyes at Taehyung’s antics, but Taehyung isn’t letting up. “Okay, okay, food solves everything!” he eventually concedes. “Can you stop making that face now?”

“Is this one better?” Taehyung shoots him a goofy grin, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

“Much better,” Jungkook giggles, but he stops when Taehyung’s head snaps to the door of the café. Jungkook follows Taehyung’s gaze and bites his lip. The four remaining T-Birds have just walked in and are drawing attention to themselves by having a loud conversation about which superpowers they would like to have. (Because what better things to discuss on a Friday evening?)

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” J-Hope complains, directing a fierce glare at LE, “but being invisible is definitely the most pointless superpower ever. How could you ever gain recognition for your acts of supreme bravery?”

“You phrase things so weirdly, I swear to God,” Suga mutters.

“But you can get away with anything because nobody knows you’re there!” LE defends, getting more infuriated by the second. “Seriously, J-Hope, what’s the point in being able to fly? If you need to get anywhere _you can just drive!”_

“You’re forgetting about the traffic problems,” Hani supplies helpfully.

Taehyung fumbles about with the menu on the table, opening it up and propping it in front of the table so that he and Jungkook won’t be visible from the café entrance.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook whispers.

“Hiding,” Taehyung whispers back.

“But you’re just making us look really suspicious,” Jungkook chuckles. All the same, he bends his head down to hide behind the menu with Taehyung. Their heads are pressed so close together that Jungkook could count Taehyung’s eyelashes (not that he’s going to, but he _could_ ) and Jungkook is currently finding it hard to breathe. Jungkook’s gaze drifts down not so subtly to Taehyung’s lips – if he just leans forward a little then he could…

“Hey, is that V?” Hani exclaims in surprise as the T-Birds sit down at a table nearby. V’s head shoots up from the menu and he makes awkward eye contact with Hani. She grins at him and he gives her a small wave in response.

The four of them wander over to Jungkook and V’s table, pushing the table next to it along so that they can all sit together.

“Jungkook, right?” J-Hope greets with a grin. “No offence but, what are you doing here?”

Jungkook sees V biting his lip so hard that he’s worried it will draw blood and he realises that he’ll have to take matters into his own hands for now. “Well, V and I met over summer and… Now that we go to the same school, I figured maybe we should get to know each other a little better. You know. Make a new friend,” Jungkook finishes feebly. He can feel Suga’s intimidating gaze boring into him and he hopes that his explanation is convincing enough. But as it turns out, he needn’t worry because Hani has much more important things for the group to discuss.

“V, why are you reading the menu like that? Why’s it propped up on the table?”

“It reads better like that,” V responds without a second thought. He leans down on the table demonstratively, glancing up at the menu with a lazy grin planted on his face. “Lazy reading,” he explains.

“What a neat trick, I’ve gotta try that!” Hani grins. She twists the menu to face her and leans on the table, copying V’s actions as she looks over the menu. Jungkook struggles not to laugh.

Luckily, the afternoon continues with no issues – until the awkward moment when Solji brings over V and Jungkook’s order of an ice cream sundae and two spoons.

LE’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Why are you sharing a dessert?”

V gulps and Jungkook springs into action. “Both the spoons are for me,” he says decisively. Suddenly all eyes are on him and he has no idea how to justify his comment. “Uh…”

“Why do you need two spoons?” Suga asks, and. Fair enough.

“I.” Jungkook flounders for a second before deciding on an explanation. “If you hold one in each hand then you can eat it faster.”

“That does make sense,” Hani agrees contemplatively.

“It’s fricking weird,” V disagrees, shooting Jungkook the most disapproving look he can muster.

Jungkook struggles to remain unfazed by the sudden personality switch. This is going to take a lot of getting used to.

“Well, it works,” Jungkook defends quietly, before picking up both spoons and attempting to prove his point.

Ten minutes of brainfreeze later Jungkook is ready to go home. The T-Birds have been nice enough to him, with J-Hope and Hani especially trying to include him in the conversation, but Jungkook is quickly learning that V is a completely different person to Taehyung. V is not _his V_ but a cocky, annoying schoolkid – and whilst Taehyung was insistent on apologising to Jungkook, V seems insistent on insulting Jungkook at every possible opportunity. Not exactly fun.

It only gets worse when their waitress puts the bill on the table and Jungkook realises that he has no money to pay with. “Cash or credit?” Solji asks pleasantly.

Taehyung said it was his treat, but then again Taehyung appears to have left the building.

Apparently noticing Jungkook’s inner conflict and deciding to show some semblance of humility, V kicks him lightly under the table before passing a £5 note to him. Jungkook almost shakes his head at the ridiculousness of it all, but he mutters “cash” all the same and hands over the money. When Solji gives him the change, Jungkook attempts to pass it back to V under the table, but all that happens is that he drops the coins on the floor. They clatter onto the tile with a loud _ping!_ and Jungkook winces.

On the bright side, it makes V smile, but he hides his face under the table too soon for Jungkook to fully appreciate it. A couple seconds later, V is handing him the coins and telling him to be more careful next time.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, but mutters a “thank you” all the same. He hopes V understands what he means by it.

 

***

 

By the time Jungkook arrives home, he feels drained. He dumps his school bag on the kitchen table, not bothering to unload anything as he stares at it reproachfully. It’s a Friday night and he’s just had the weirdest dinner date experience ever – he doesn’t exactly want to top off the unsuccessful evening by doing homework.

“How was school?” Jungkook’s mother asks as she wanders into the kitchen.

Jungkook looks up at his mother and shakes his head in reply.

“What’s wrong?” she asks immediately, sitting down at the table and inviting Jungkook to join her.

“I – uh –” Jungkook frowns. He takes a seat on the cold wooden chair, taking a minute to gather his thoughts. “Actually, it’s not important. Just struggling to get used to the new place,” he replies eventually. He has a very close relationship with his mum, but he doesn’t want to drag anyone else into the whole issue with Taehyung. Especially as his mother knows Taehyung, it wouldn’t be fair to reveal his sexuality before Taehyung is ready to share it himself.

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it eventually,” his mother smiles kindly.

Jungkook sighs tiredly. He only hopes she’s right.

“Oh, by the way, do you remember Junghwa?” she asks out of the blue.

“Of course I do,” Jungkook frowns. “We’ve been really close since forever. Why?”

“I was just checking,” she responds vaguely. “I wasn’t sure you’d spoken much lately.”

Jungkook pauses thoughtfully. “Yeah, I haven’t talked to her much lately, not over the past year or so… I guess we’ve both been busy with other things.” Junghwa was really busy focusing on her A Levels last year and Jungkook had been too busy with his own troubles to think too much about staying in contact. He feels a pang of guilt as he realises that she’ll be starting university this year and Jungkook didn’t meet up with her over summer even once.

“Well that’s lucky then, because she’s coming to stay with us next month,” his mother smiles, bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Wait – really?” Jungkook enquires, somewhat disbelievingly.

“Yes, really,” she laughs. “It’s reading week at her university so she called me this morning and asked whether she could stay here. Her own house is much further away from the uni so she claimed that this would be more convenient – but I think she also misses you.”

“That’s amazing,” Jungkook says, a wide smile spreading across his face. He and Junghwa have been good friends since they met ten years ago, when their parents befriended each other. She’s someone that Jungkook has always felt he can rely on and trust with advice – someone that Jungkook is really in need of right now. She’s like an honorary big sister to him. “When does she get here?” he asks eagerly.

“She’s coming down on the Friday – but don’t get too excited; it’s not for a while yet,” his mother smirks knowingly.

“I know. It will just be really good to see her. Thanks mum,” he says, dropping a kiss on her cheek before heading to his room for the evening.

“Whatever for?” she enquires as Jungkook reaches the staircase.

“For letting her stay here. And for always looking out for me,” he adds quietly before he disappears upstairs.

 

***

 

It takes maybe an hours’ procrastination before Jungkook works up the courage to actually start his homework. He reluctantly gets out his Music work, thinking that if he gets the worst piece of homework done first then the other pieces won’t seem so bad.

He struggles for a while, getting more frustrated with himself as each minute passes. He probably wouldn’t find it so hard if he’d actually been concentrating in Tuesday’s lesson. He rolls his eyes inwardly at himself – why do thoughts of Taehyung have to take over his mind when he should be focusing on other things?

By the time Jungkook has given up on his Music homework, eaten dinner and come back upstairs to procrastinate some more, it’s already 9pm. He sighs to himself and decides to take his mind off Taehyung by doing some of his PE work.

But really. It’s a Friday night, he’s had a long week and he’s really not in the mood.

Getting out his textbook is arduous enough, so when he feels a buzzing in his pocket, he reaches for his phone like a lifeline.

**Sorry about earlier :(**

the message reads. It’s from Taehyung.

Jungkook looks at it, but he doesn’t know how to reply. He stares at his phone for a second before another message comes through.

**We good?**

Jungkook sighs, contemplating his choice of words carefully before sending back

**Well you could’ve been a little nicer to me in front of your friends**

Jungkook stares at his phone as the writing bubble appears.

**I know. I panicked**

**I had to eat a whole ice cream sundae with two spoons**

Jungkook continues.

**Hey, I should be the one complaining, you owe me half a sundae ;P**

Jungkook grins at Taehyung’s reply and soon any underlying tension from the awkward date incident is forgotten.

 

***

 

When Monday rolls around, Jungkook isn’t prepared. He doesn’t know what to expect from Taehyung, and he also spent too much of the weekend worrying about it instead of doing his schoolwork.

Although it’s only just begun, Jungkook already knows that it will to be a difficult week.

As usual, Jimin greets him at the school gates. It has become routine for the two of them to wait for each other outside school and walk in together, mainly because Jimin understands that Jungkook still feels uncomfortable in such a new place and it’s always easier to navigate if you’re with someone else. But Jimin also appreciates the company, so it’s really a win-win situation.

“How was your weekend?” Jimin asks brightly.

Jungkook just shrugs. “How was yours?”

“Not too bad, thanks,” Jimin smiles, remembering how he ran into Suga on Saturday and they decided to spend the day together. Suga is always so sweet to him when they’re on their own (no pun intended). “I didn’t do much, really, but it was nice.”

Jungkook groans. “I definitely didn’t do enough. I’m going to drown in homework this week.”

Jimin simply chuckles as they walk together through the gates.

 

***

 

At lunch time, Jungkook sits with the three Pink Ladies and waits apprehensively for Jimin to arrive. It’s not that he doesn’t like Jin and Jisoo (because it’s true that he doesn’t like Rosé) but he simply feels more at ease when Jimin is there to talk to. Especially because today Rosé is acting more distant than usual, so the atmosphere is already a little stilted.

Jin explained in hushed undertones to Jungkook when he sat down that apparently V regrets most of his relationships. The word spread around and now Rosé is feeling pretty down about it even though she refuses to admit that’s the reason. Jungkook is also feeling a little off after hearing the news, but for obvious reasons he’s refusing to acknowledge it. Besides, he trusts V – what they have together is different.

Jungkook scoffs to himself at his line of thought. What they have probably hardly comes under the umbrella term of ‘relationship’ anyway.

Jungkook has already started his dessert of vanilla ice cream when Jimin appears at the table, setting down his tray of food with an excited smile.

“What’s got you so excited?” Rosé asks disinterestedly.

“It’s my birthday soon!” Jimin grins. “I’m just thinking about what type of celebration to have. I haven’t completely decided on what to do yet, or who to invite.”

“If this is your way of telling us that we’re not invited then I’m officially offended,” Jisoo informs him, digging her spoon into Rosé’s ice cream. (As she is with most things, Jisoo is unable to fully commit to veganism. But if the food is off someone else’s plate then it doesn’t count as cheating, right?)

“Don’t be so stupid,” Jimin admonishes, but his smile is brighter than ever. “What do you think about a bowling trip?”

Jin laughs in surprise as Rosé raises her eyebrows. “Are you turning eighteen or eight?” she deadpans.

“Is that really why you’re so happy right now? Bowling?” Jin chuckles.

“I haven’t been in ages!” Jimin protests. There’s something almost childlike about his excitement. “What do you say, Jungkook?”

Jungkook finds himself giving Jimin a genuine smile. Jimin always finds a way to incorporate him into the conversation and not allow him to feel left out. “That sounds like fun.”

“What sounds like fun?” a female voice says from right behind Jungkook, and he jumps. When he turns around he finds Hani grinning at him, her face way too close to his. “Did I scare you?” she asks, sounding way too happy about it.

He then notices the other T-Birds also making their way over to the table. Although he can sense V looking in his direction, Jungkook pretends not to notice. Even after all the time they spent together over summer, Jungkook still feels like his heart is about to beat out of his chest whenever they make eye contact – and really, now is not the time for that.

“No,” he mumbles in reply to Hani, turning back around in his seat before she can notice him blushing.

“Hey, where’s your spoon?” Suga asks Jungkook with a frown. Jungkook looks down at his ice cream in surprise, wondering whether his spoon has magically disappeared, only to see that he’s still clutching it in his hand.

“It’s right here,” Jungkook answers, mirroring Suga’s frown. “What do you mean?”

“He means the other one,” V says quietly – his first words in person to Jungkook since their date last Friday. “You eat with two, remember?”

“Oh – right.” Jungkook blushes again, looking back down at his ice cream. Even without looking, he already knows the Pink Ladies are looking at him strangely. “Um. Well. They didn’t have enough in the canteen, so…”

“Oh, you can use mine if you want,” Jisoo says kindly, not understanding the situation but still making an effort to be nice. Jungkook shakes his head in alarm but Jisoo puts her spoon on his tray anyway, thinking that he’s just trying to be polite. “I don’t mind,” she insists. “I shouldn’t be eating ice cream anyway.”

“Especially _my_ ice cream,” Rosé agrees, glaring at Jisoo as she boastfully takes another bite. Jisoo sticks her tongue out at her, showing no remorse.

Jungkook sighs, looking down at the second spoon in disappointment. _Here we go again._ He picks up the spoon reluctantly, now holding one in each hand, but before he can reattempt his amazing ice cream stunt from the café he feels something hit his arm and he drops the extra spoon in surprise.

“Oops. I’m not usually so clumsy,” V says unapologetically. Jungkook opens his mouth to retort – _‘remember that time when’_ – but no. He’s not supposed to know about how clumsy V can be sometimes. He’s not even supposed to know V at all. He gulps, hoping nobody noticed his slip-up.

V picks up the spoon from the floor and puts it down on the table. It now has dirt on it and Jisoo looks at V sadly. “You ruined my gift!” she accuses.

“You’re snappy today,” Jin laughs. “Is the lack of sugar getting to you?”

“Shut up,” she grumbles, stealing Jin’s apple and taking an angry bite. Jin scowls at her: nobody takes his food. But he lets it go, not wanting to start an argument.

“Um,” Jungkook says, hurriedly turning back to Suga. “It’s okay. I’ll just use the one for now.”

“Really? You mean you actually want to eat like a normal person?” V scoffs. It’s not much of an insult, but it seems to annoy Jungkook at least. (Not really his goal, but there you have it.) V ignores the glare Jungkook shoots his way – if the T-Birds think he hates Jungkook then they’ll never be able to tell how infatuated V actually is with him.

“It’s worth a shot,” Jungkook mutters back.

“Anyway, I was just talking about my birthday,” Jimin says excitedly, dispelling any tension that may have settled.

“Oh yeah, it’s in a couple of weeks, right?” Suga responds.

“You remembered,” Jimin grins as he looks at Suga happily, unaware of the eye rolls he’s receiving from his friends.

“Course I did,” Suga grins back and Jimin thinks he might have the best smile in the world – when Suga grins like that, it’s cute and gummy and completely lights up his usually impassive face.

“Did you have a point, Jimin?” Rosé murmurs, bringing Jimin out of his daze and back to the situation at hand.

“Right, yeah,” Jimin blushes. “Well, I’m thinking about a bowling trip, but I don’t know how many people can go in a lane yet so I’m not sure who to invite.”

“So you only told us this on the off chance that we’ll get an invite?” J-Hope asks, feigning mild hurt. “Who have you already invited?”

“All the Pink Ladies are definitely going,” Jimin says. Rosé opens his mouth to argue but Jimin beats her to it. “No complaining! I don’t care if you hate bowling, or if you think the shoes make your feet look big – yes, that one’s directed at you, Jisoo – you’re my friends and you’re coming to celebrate with me whether you like it or not.”

“Some friendship it is,” Jin laughs. “Ever heard of the concept of free will?”

“Some say free will is an illusion,” Hani comments nonchalantly.

“Some people don’t care,” J-Hope replies. He turns to grin at Hani cheekily and Hani hits him on the arm.

“Is Jungkook invited?” V asks without thinking. The others (including Jungkook) turn to look at him in confusion and he realises that he really should have no reason to care. But since Jungkook reappeared in his life, V has struggled to get his thoughts off him and apparently sometimes his brain-to-mouth filter completely fails him.

“Yeah, he’s one of us now, why?” Jimin asks sceptically.

V takes in a subtle deep breath. This is his opportunity to throw his friends off the trail and he takes it wholeheartedly. “What do you mean ‘why’? You’ve known all of us for much longer – he can’t be that important to you. Do you just feel bad for him because he doesn’t have any friends?” he answers flippantly. V bites his lip, wondering vaguely whether he’s gone too far. If he doesn’t care about Jungkook, then he shouldn’t care about him either way. That includes irrational hatred. Shit, why is this so hard?

“He does have friends,” Jisoo replies defensively. “He’s friends with us.” Jungkook shoots her a small, appreciative smile and she smiles back. It’s something at least, knowing he can count on the Pink Ladies to be there for him when the person that really matters to him refuses to.

Well, V has committed to his line of reasoning now. “Come on, I bet he’s hardly said two words to you since he’s arrived,” he argues. “That’s not friendship. In fact, that’s hardly acquaintanceship.”

“What the hell is your problem?” Jungkook says, unable to stop the outburst. V knows that Jungkook is shy and a little awkward around new people and that it’s a sore spot for him – it’s definitely a new low to start attacking him for it, even for the sake of pretending.

Jungkook continues to stare at V, silently demanding an explanation. V has apparently given up on being distant with Jungkook, which is kind of worse because being completely ignored would be better than the rude remarks Jungkook is currently receiving.

He wonders vaguely whether he’ll ever get used to being treated like this – or whether he even wants to. If he does get used to it then it means he’s given up on all the potential he and V have, and he doesn’t want that to happen. But Jungkook also knows that it will only hurt if he keeps holding onto hope only to have it crushed repeatedly.

V almost laughs. “You seem to be the one with the problem,” he says, avoiding Jungkook’s eyes because he doesn’t want to see how they’re brimming with hurt.

“That’s just his personality, mate,” J-Hope explains apologetically to Jungkook, patting him consolingly on the shoulder. Jungkook automatically flinches and J-Hope worriedly removes his hand – but it’s not anything personal; Jungkook simply isn’t comfortable with physical contact between near-strangers. (V has always been an exception.)

“Yeah, sorry to disappoint you Jungkook, but he’s always been a dick,” Rosé pipes up, stuffing her mouth with another spoonful of ice cream.

Hani looks nervously between Rosé, V and J-Hope. V glares at Rosé and Rosé glares back, as if challenging him to deny the statement. J-Hope meanwhile stands in between them, unsure of whom to side with.

Panicked by the odd atmosphere settling between them, Hani squeals “Right, time to go!” before pulling away a bewildered LE by the arm. Suga raises his eyebrows but reluctantly joins the girls, with J-Hope and V following behind him.

V doesn’t look back – not that he would, Jungkook reasons. Anything that could be suspicious is obviously a no go.

But still.

 

***

 

The next few days don’t fare any better for Jungkook. He’s overwhelmed by work in the evenings because he neglected to do any of it at the weekend, but he really doesn’t want to get behind. Especially not all because of a boy – and at that, a boy who used to brighten up his life but nowadays is only making it worse.

Jungkook groans to himself. He’s currently sitting in his bedroom with his PE textbook spread across the bed – who would have thought so much biology would be involved? Jungkook did not sign up for this.

He’s meant to be reading up on the logistics behind stamina and muscular endurance, but all Jungkook can think about it is how rude V is to him all the time. The T-Birds have started to hang out with the Pink Ladies more often – or maybe Jungkook is just more aware of it now – but even though the others seem to be generally friendly, Taehyung hasn’t said a single good thing to Jungkook in all the time they’ve been around each other this week. Taehyung even made a comment about how pathetic Jungkook was when Jungkook said that he missed his dog. This coming from the person who could never be seen without Soonshim.

But each night this week Jungkook has received an apologetic text from Taehyung, telling him to please not be offended and that he’s just trying to throw his friends off the mark before he opens up to Jungkook again. Honestly, Jungkook is losing patience with the whole situation. He’d probably be able to put up with it if it didn’t involve having to put up with insults at every turn.

The homework is challenging regardless, but Jungkook can’t concentrate on what he’s reading when Taehyung keeps popping up in his head. It isn’t due in for a couple days yet, but there’s so much to get through, so eventually Jungkook decides to stay late after school tomorrow and try to finish it off in the library.

However, Jungkook is no less distracted the next day and when the time comes to say goodbye to the Pink Ladies at the end of school, he notices the T-Birds walking over out of the corner of his eye.

“Jungkook, where are you going?” Jin asks as Jungkook desperately tries to slip away unnoticed.

“I need to stay late to do some work,” he explains hurriedly, making to turn away, but the T-Birds have already arrived. Jungkook braces himself for V to make another cutting comment, but to his surprise V turns to Jungkook with a pleasant smile, for the first time in what feels like a while.

“I’m a bit behind on work too – mind if I join you?”

“Oh – okay. Sure,” Jungkook stutters, shocked by V’s change in demeanour. It’s as if the rude, insensitive schoolkid disappeared just as suddenly as he turned up.

V walks in the direction of the school library and Jungkook hurries to catch up to him, completely bewildered. “What was that about?” Jungkook asks. He then frowns. “Are you really behind on work? Is that the only reason you –”

“As it happens, I am behind on work, but that’s not why I’m here. I want to talk to you,” V says simply.

“It’s not like you’ve been having trouble talking to me lately,” Jungkook grumbles back.

“Shit, I don’t mean any of the stuff I say, I’m sorry – I don’t even know where that comes from. I just don’t want anybody to find out…” He looks at Jungkook apologetically. They’re a safe distance away from their friends now and Jungkook can see a semblance of the boy he knows peeking out from behind the mask.

“What about walking off with me just now though? Isn’t that suspicious?” Jungkook asks apprehensively. He doesn’t know why he still cares. He shouldn’t care. But he does.

“I thought maybe it would be, but you looked so surprised I don’t think that’s an issue,” V chuckles. His eyes flit around the scenery before he spots an exit. “Come on, let’s talk somewhere more privately.”

“I actually do have work to do…” Jungkook protests weakly, but he follows V out of the school regardless.

They walk together to a nearby park, about ten minutes away from the school. Jungkook would like to say that they walk in amicable silence, but it’s really more awkward than anything else. Unspoken words hang in the air until the pair reaches a secluded spot of the park where Taehyung deems it safe to speak freely.

“I’d like to apologise.” Taehyung pauses. “Again.”

“You’ve been apologising every night,” Jungkook sighs.

“I know. But texting feels like a coward’s way out, so here I am. I’m also going to stop being such a prick to you by the way.”

“About time,” Jungkook huffs.

“Cheer up,” Taehyung grins. “If we’re careful about this and we make sure to leave an appropriate amount of time before acting like best buds, I’m sure we can get back to where we were with no problems.”

 _Where we were._ Except without any of the romance, Jungkook supposes. He tries not to show his disappointment.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell the others that we became good friends over summer,” Jungkook admits. “Then we wouldn’t have to sneak around so much. You didn’t have to include any of…” He blushes, thinking about the numerous kisses they shared in the last couple of days before Jungkook’s departure. They never labelled their relationship with one another, never feeling the need to. Jungkook isn’t entirely sure what to call it.

“Well, you kind of put me on the spot,” Taehyung frowns. Jungkook didn’t exactly provide him with an alternative explanation at the time, and he had to think quickly on his feet. There wasn’t much of an opportunity to think it through.

“I just think you could’ve handled it better,” Jungkook shrugs, rolling his eyes. He’s getting a bit sick of not knowing where he stands – can’t Taehyung just make up his mind on how to act around him? There’s no way he wants to pretend to naturally make friends with Taehyung over a few months, not when they already feel so close. Jungkook is not fond of lying and a fake friendship plan is seriously not an ideal solution.

“I’m doing my best, Kookie,” Taehyung says sadly.

“Really? This is your best?” Jungkook asks, sounding just as upset. “This is really the best you can do? Because you say that you care but you’ve been walking around treating me like I’m dirt on your shoe.”

“That’s not the expression.”

“Whatever.”

There’s another awkward silence, so Taehyung scrabbles to fill it. “Look, can we just take it slow? This is a bump in the road, I know. But let’s take the time to fix this.”

“It’s more like a pothole,” Jungkook mutters, frustrated. “And it’s not that easy. You can’t just keep apologising and expect things to be fine.”

“Why are you placing all the blame on me?” Taehyung demands suddenly, turning to face Jungkook with a hint of anger. “All you’ve talked about is how I was so rude to you, how I should’ve been kinder and more honest, how I shouldn’t have been so damn _caught off guard_ when you’re the one who turned up in the middle of my everyday life, after I thought you’d moved _halfway across the country._ Did it never even occur to you to maybe tell me that you decided to stay?”

“It wasn’t all that simple,” Jungkook huffs, getting riled up himself. Where are all these accusations coming from? “I was kind of preoccupied with the whole ‘moving house and starting a new school and making new friends and knowing nobody and being terrified that the bullying will start up again’ _thing_. Why is it my fault? You had my number, it’s not like you tried to reach out either.”

“I sent you a birthday text, thank you very much! You must’ve even been back here by then and you didn’t say a thing. Just a measly ‘thanks’!” Taehyung rolls his eyes to the sky. “It’s not the same, Jungkook. I thought you were _gone_ ,” he groans in exasperation. “It’s kind of different saying ‘hey how’s life going’ compared to ‘hey I go to your school now just thought I should let you know’??”

“I didn’t know you went to this school,” Jungkook defends. “You live like an hour away, what’s that about anyway?”

“Yeah, an hour away,” Taehyung agrees, hurt seeping through the anger. “Close enough that we could’ve still seen each other, but you said it yourself; you didn’t even think about me. This whole time you didn’t even consider that I’d want to know you were still around.”

“Like it would make a difference whether you knew or not. You’ve done nothing but hate on me or avoid me since we saw each other again,” Jungkook spits out before he can stop himself.

“It’s hard for me!” Taehyung yells back. “Nobody knows, not about anything! How could I just drop that all for you? And without any warning?!”

“What happened to that guy at the beach, huh?” Jungkook asks bitterly. He knows he’s going too far but he can’t stop it. Not after he built up such a perfect image of Taehyung that’s becoming more and more shattered with every single second they spend together. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

“I’m trying so hard, Jungkook! Why can’t you see that?” Taehyung asks desperately. But Jungkook is inconsolable.

“You said that nobody knew you as well as I did,” he retorts, voice laced with hurt. “So where’s that person that I knew? Where is he?!”

“He’s not here, Jungkook!” Taehyung bursts out. “You know what, fuck this. Fuck _you_. I didn’t expect to have to deal with this shit! If I’d known you would be coming back I would never have let you get so close!”

It’s too far. And he doesn’t mean it. But the words are out and there’s no getting them back.

“Right. Okay,” Jungkook says quietly, and Taehyung knows that that’s worse than him yelling back. Jungkook looks so defeated all of a sudden; so upset that Taehyung just wants to apologise and promise to make things better.

But after too many empty apologies, along with hurtful lies said in the heat of the moment, there’s no simple way of making things better.

“That’s all it was to you then?” Jungkook asks with a shake of his head. “I believed you when you said it meant something. But I was really just someone you didn’t mean to let in. Just another regret.”

“Jungkook, I –”

“No, I get it. Let’s just forget this.”

“Forget this?” Taehyung repeats in confusion. “The argument?” he asks hopefully.

“No, all of this.” Jungkook gestures between the two of them and Taehyung’s heart snaps in two, in one clean slice.

“What if I don’t want to?” Taehyung says miserably.

“I’m not your trophy, Taehyung,” he spits. “Just because you won me over doesn’t mean you get to keep me.” With that, he turns away from Taehyung. He doesn’t spare even a single glance back as he walks down the street – and Taehyung feels a part of himself crumbling away with every step Jungkook takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY


	6. about time you knew the score

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes bowling!

The rest of September passes by in a blur. Taehyung and Jungkook don’t talk, but at least the insults stop. Well, the insults from Taehyung, at least. Suga still calls Jungkook Goldy, but Jimin assures him that being given a nickname just means Suga likes him and doesn’t know how to express it in a normal way.

Jungkook almost wishes that Suga didn’t like him, if it meant he would stop comparing Jungkook to a goldfish.

Of course, Jungkook still sees plenty of V. He’s sure now that the two people are different – although he’s not convinced he can be bothered with either of them. V is civil to Jungkook, clearly keeping his promise about being less of a prick, and they’ll talk to each other when they’re in a big group but it’s obviously not the same. Jungkook sometimes wonders whether a fake friendship plan would have been better than this awkward distance they now have between them, because at least then they would have both been in on it. But he needs to put that behind him and focus on things that are more important – for example, Jimin’s birthday is coming up and Jungkook has no idea what to get him.

“Get him some hair dye!” Jin grins one day at lunch when Jungkook brings it up. Jimin is in school but hasn’t showed up for lunch, which is peculiar to say the least, but Jungkook will take his opportunities where he can.

At Jin’s suggestion, Jungkook simply scowls. “Why do you think that’s a good idea?” he grumbles. The purple hair dye Jimin used on Jungkook only lasted a couple weeks – it was the wash-out kind, for which Jungkook is thankful. But Jin still likes to tease him about all the attention it got. The fluorescence wore off after one week and then even Jungkook admitted he looked pretty good. However, it did make for a few awkward encounters where he had to explain to at least three girls that no, he would not like to go on a date with them; no, he would never be interested in them; and no, he didn’t think that was a harsh thing to say because he was in fact gay.

“Just look at how much fun Jimin had with you!” Jisoo agrees excitedly. “He was talking about maybe dying his own hair – I’m sure it would look great,” she smirks.

“Well, as long as it’s not being used on me, I’m down,” Rosé shrugs. “Hey, we could maybe get him some incense or something? Or a new yoga mat?”

“He does yoga?” Jungkook asks curiously.

“Oh yeah, he’s really into all that mindfulness stuff,” Jisoo says informatively. “I tried it with him once, but the moves were too hard and I kept falling over and laughing. Jimin told me I wasn’t trying hard enough to connect to my inner self, so I told him the problem was more with the flexibility of my outer self. Needless to say, he was not amused and we never tried it again.”

Rosé chuckles. “I still can’t believe you tried to joke about it. You know how seriously he takes his yoga.”

“I know, but I didn’t realise he’d lose his sense of humour in the process,” Jisoo pouts.

“Anyway, I’ve heard that good quality yoga mats are quite expensive and you know what a snob he can be about these things,” Jin reminds them. “But maybe if we pitched together…?”

“Which of us knows anything about it though? We’d probably get a really bad one,” Rosé sighs.

“True. What else, then?” Jin asks.

“Candles?” Jisoo suggests. Jungkook nods mutely and gets out his phone to make a note of the ideas.

“Cute, but also kinda screams middle-aged,” Rosé contemplates.

“There’s nothing wrong with liking candles!” Jin exclaims, somewhat defensively.

“Alright, mum,” Rosé snorts.

“Did you actually just _snort_?” Jisoo frowns. “Wow. I thought you were classier than that.”

“Fuck off, I’m the classiest bitch there is,” Rosé responds nonchalantly. Jin bursts out laughing.

“You’re about as classy as your comebacks,” Jisoo smirks.

Rosé sniggers. “Says _you._ ”

“ _Nice_ ,” Jisoo snorts.

“You’re such a hypocrite,” Rosé laughs.

Although Jungkook watches his friends argue with vague amusement, he quickly gives up on trying to get help from his fellow Pink Ladies.

 

***

“Oh my God, I don’t know how much more of the criminal approach I can take,” LE moans to her best friend as they walk out of Psychology. “I go to school to get away from my messed up family; not to learn more about them.”

Hani simply laughs. “Maybe you’ll find it useful once we get to the part of the approach where you learn about therapies and solutions to the problems. Then you’ll know how to fix your sister,” she grins.

“I don’t understand how you’re so casual about this,” LE says with a roll of her eyes. “You do realise she’s literally in _prison_ – hey, where are you going?”

Hani stops in her tracks, just outside of the school gates. “Home?” she replies, as if this much should be obvious. When LE continues to look confused, Hani expands, “You know that place that you hate?”

“I know what ‘home’ is,” LE snaps. “But I thought we were waiting for J-Hope. He’s got that truck parked in his garage and we were going to take a look at it tonight, remember?”

“Oh, of course!” Hani exclaims. “I can’t believe I was about to leave. I already forgot and we only talked about it at lunch.”

“I know; I was there,” LE mutters.

Just then, V appears at their sides. “How was Biology?” Hani asks him pleasantly.

“Shit,” V responds crassly. He looks at the school building reproachfully, seemingly resentful that he can’t escape straight away. “Will J-Hope be long?”

LE and Hani exchange a look: V’s obviously in a bad mood and he’s never easy to talk to in moments like this. “I don’t know, we’re waiting too,” LE grumbles. “And chill out. She was only asking you a question.”

“Don’t ask if you don’t want to hear the answer,” V grumbles back. “I actually hate Biology. I don’t know why I have to take it.”

“Because you picked it,” Hani says helpfully.

“I know that, Hani, but thanks for explaining it to me,” he says sarcastically, his voice uncharacteristically cold and condescending.

J-Hope appears next to them and the timing couldn’t be better. “You guys okay?” he grins.

“V’s in a mood,” Hani moans.

“I’m not in a mood!” V snaps, glaring at the three of them.

“Ah,” J-Hope nods understandingly. “It’s okay, V. We’ll get back to mine soon enough and you can focus on shitty car mechanics instead of shitty Biology,” he says consolingly.

“Perfect,” V rolls his eyes.

“Shall we get going then?” Hani grins.

“What about Suga?” J-Hope says, surprised.

“Is he coming?” LE asks dubiously. “He wasn’t here at lunch so I assumed he was at work or skipped or something.”

“Nah, I saw him earlier,” J-Hope shrugs. “I don’t know where he was at lunch, but he’s coming tonight anyway. Oh – there he is.”

Suga joins the others wordlessly and they all walk back to J-Hope’s house. When they arrive, J-Hope reveals the truck dramatically, opening the garage door and flashing jazz hands at them. But despite the hype J-Hope tries to create, the state of the truck doesn’t look any more promising than before.

“I’m not sure this will ever work,” LE says doubtfully.

“Well you’re not a car expert,” Hani scolds. “You work in a café. Why don’t we let Suga tell us what he thinks?” She turns towards Suga expectantly. “You must have worked on fixing cars up like this before, right?”

Suga winces. “Honestly, nothing this run-down. The only reason they let me take it was because they planned on chucking it out. J-Hope convinced me it was a good idea at the time, but you know what he’s like. His enthusiasm is infectious and it made me forget to think through the logistics…”

“I think it could be really cool, though!” J-Hope pouts. “And seriously, Suga. You could help me out just a _little_. I didn’t agree to keep the truck at my house just for you to slag it off.”

“Yeah, okay,” Suga agrees reluctantly. He walks over to the truck and pats the hood half-heartedly.

“I think J-Hope’s right,” V announces, feeling J-Hope’s excitement rubbing off on him. Besides, the fact that he’s now away from school and thereby away from any possibilities of accidentally running into Jungkook assists in lifting his mood.  It’s been near torturous being around Jungkook for the last couple of weeks, knowing that he’s messed everything up between them and that he can’t even rant to anyone about the whole situation. It also makes a nice change to hang out with his friends without the pressure of trying to act normal around Jungkook. (Whatever normal even is. V isn’t sure he knows anymore.) He banishes thoughts of Jungkook from his head for the time being; now is his time to get away from that and relax. “We just need a bit of imagination,” V continues enthusiastically.

“Imagination?” LE asks, her eyebrows raised in a look of scepticism.

“Yeah!” V grins. “We just need to fix up the engine a little, get the dents in the metal sorted out, give it a paint job… We could completely reconstruct it.”

“That could be pretty cool,” Hani agrees.

“We could paint it red,” V suggests, remembering that red is Jungkook’s favourite colour. (How has he popped into V’s head again without his permission?) “We could give it a makeover and make it look seriously cool! No one would ever recognise it from the before pictures.”

“What before pictures?” Hani frowns, looking not nearly as excited by the prospect as V wants her to be.

“Okay, fine. You can get out your phone and take some pictures if you really want to take me so literally,” V huffs.

“I’m still not convinced,” LE sighs.

“Come _on_ , you guys!” V insists excitedly, trying to get them to see the potential. “This car could be automatic.” He hits the metal hood of the truck with his fist dramatically. “Systematic.” He hops up onto the top of the bonnet. “Hyyyydromatic –”

“Get down from there, V, why are you acting like such a prick?” Suga mutters.

V steps down dejectedly. “Seriously, though,” he insists. “This truck could be really cool. I think we should give it a chance.”

“That’s just because you see the best in everything,” LE scowls.

“Is that a bad thing?” V asks with a raise of his eyebrows.

“It is with this,” she grumbles back.

“Maybe we could have it ready in time to drive it to Jimin’s birthday,” J-Hope suggests, hoping to at least win Suga over with the option of impressing Jimin.

“No chance,” Hani laughs. “His birthday’s really soon. But maybe we can get it ready for Jimin’s _next_ birthday,” she grins.

“Not helpful, Hani,” J-Hope groans.

“You know what, let’s do it,” LE shrugs. “The more time I spend here, the less time I have to spend at home. Everyone cool?” She looks at Suga expectantly, knowing that he’s the only other person really opposing the idea of fixing up the truck.

Secretly, Suga agrees with LE’s logic. “Yeah, cool,” he nods.

They get to work.

***

 

When Jimin’s birthday is only a week away and Jungkook has still not found a present for him, he asks his mother for advice on beauty products as a last resort. His mother helpfully agrees to go into town with him and pick out something suitable, so Jungkook ends up with an expensive bottle of styling mousse which he wraps up in dinosaur wrapping paper. (He forgot to buy some while he was out and his stash of wrapping paper at home is severely limited.)

On Sunday 13th – both Jimin’s birthday and the date of their bowling trip – Jisoo swings by Jungkook’s house in her car to pick him up. Jungkook hops into the car, his dinosaur-wrapped gift in tow.

“I know we’re going bowling, but it’s not a kids’ party,” Jisoo says by way of greeting.

Jungkook groans. “It’s all we had, okay?”

“I’m only teasing,” Jisoo grins. “What did you get him in the end?” she asks as she pulls away from Jungkook’s house.

“Styling mousse?” Jungkook says hesitantly.

“Why are you saying it like it’s a question? I don’t know what you got,” Jisoo responds.

“No, well, it is styling mousse,” Jungkook explains. “But I don’t know if he’ll like it. I don’t know much about that sort of stuff.” He fidgets nervously.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate the thought,” Jisoo shrugs. She smiles at him warmly. “He’ll just be happy that you’re here. He’s really taken to you, you know.”

The compliment makes Jungkook blush. “He’s probably my best friend,” Jungkook admits quietly.

“Aw, you’re so cute,” she grins, looking at him fondly for a second before turning her attention back on the road. “If I weren’t driving right now I’d pinch your little cheeks.”

Jungkook blanches. “I’m glad you _are_ driving,” he proclaims. Jisoo giggles.

 

***

 

They reach the bowling alley about 10 minutes before the time of their booking, but Suga, V and J-Hope are already waiting inside. “Hey guys!” Jisoo calls excitedly.

“Hi!” J-Hope calls back happily. “Thank God someone else is finally here. I hate travelling with this one,” he says, gesturing to Suga.

Suga scowls. “Fine then. Next time I won’t change my shift and I’ll stay at work instead of taking you to parties.”

“Okay, _dad,_ ” J-Hope snorts. (J-Hope graciously decides not to point out that there’s no way Suga would miss something as important as Jimin’s birthday, just to do something as insignificant as go to work.)

“I’m only one year older than you!” Suga exclaims.

“Good to see you all too,” Jisoo chuckles as she takes a seat at their table. She gestures for Jungkook to sit down too, but the only available seat is next to V; things are still incredibly awkward between them, despite all their pretending. Jungkook perches on the edge of the seat and tries not to make eye contact.

“How are things going, Jungkook?” J-Hope asks kindly.                          

“Not too bad, thanks,” he replies, his voice scratchy. He coughs. “Yeah… good.” He doesn’t know why he tries to continue the sentence when he doesn’t have anything else to say, but Jungkook’s mind works in peculiar ways that even he doesn’t understand. Maybe it’s to prove that his voice doesn’t _usually_ sound like a dying cat, Jungkook considers.

“Great,” J-Hope nods, not commenting on Jungkook’s stilted response. “How about you, Jisoo?”

Luckily Jisoo has much more to talk about than Jungkook, even if a lot of it is fashion-related and completely washes over all of the boys’ heads.

Soon Jimin arrives, with Jin and Rosé in tow, and they’re able to go to the bowling lanes. Jimin sets up the Pink Ladies’ lane excitedly as they wait for Hani and LE to arrive.

“Hani’s always late,” Suga complains.

“She’ll be here soon,” J-Hope says optimistically.

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes,” Jimin shrugs. An easy smile is settled on his face. “I paid for two games per lane so we can take as long as we like.” He looks round at all of them happily. “I’m so glad you could all make it.”

“Not everyone did,” Suga points out, but he’s quickly proven wrong when Hani and LE march through the door.

“Sorry we’re late!” Hani says unapologetically. “Jimin!” She strides over to him purposefully. “Here’s your present. It’s a joint one from me and LE so we both hope you like it. Happy birthday!” She throws her arms around him in a hug before he has a chance to thank her for the present.

Jin stifles a laugh at Hani’s overbearing personality, but Hani isn’t bothered by Jin’s reaction. She likes to think that being so full-on is part of her charm.

“Oh yeah,” Jungkook says, realising that he hasn’t yet given Jimin his present. These are his first words since his ultra-smooth answer to J-Hope’s question on school and he somewhat feels like he could do better than ‘oh yeah’ – but then again, words have never been his strong point. Jungkook picks up the present lying at his feet, complete with a card taped haphazardly to the front, and hands it awkwardly to Jimin. “Sorry about the wrapping paper… We didn’t have anything else.”

Jimin laughs delightedly when he notices the dinosaur pattern. “It’s wonderful, Jungkook,” he beams. “I’m really glad you could come.” He pulls Jungkook into a hug and Jungkook smiles, knowing that Jimin would never make fun of him but feeling relieved all the same.

The others also take their turns handing over Jimin’s birthday presents, until the only person remaining is Suga. Part of Jungkook expects Suga to say he forgot to buy a present or something, because even though he’s only known Suga for a short while, he has quickly got used to the boy’s cold and thoughtless demeanour. However, Suga surprises Jungkook when he strolls up towards Jimin and smiles at him softly, a small parcel clutched in his hands.

“Hi, Jimin,” Suga says softly as he passes Jimin the present. Jimin takes hold of the neatly-wrapped gift and his fingers brush lightly against Suga’s. They both linger. “Happy birthday,” Suga murmurs gently, but before Jimin can respond, Suga steps back to rejoin the T-Birds on their side of the lane.

“Thanks,” Jimin says quietly, his face turning pink with embarrassment.

Watching the exchange, Jungkook frowns in confusion. The interaction between Suga and Jimin doesn’t seem particularly romantic, but the way the pair looks at each other makes Jungkook feel like he’s intruding just by being there. “Are they dating?” he asks Rosé, who he’s standing closest to.

“Nah. He wishes,” Rosé mumbles back.

“Who does?” Jungkook asks innocently.

Rosé looks at him in surprise, not seeming to have thought about it. “Both of them, I suppose.”

“Shall we get started?” Hani asks excitedly, breaking the fragile atmosphere. The others nod their assent and she types in the T-Birds’ names gleefully, because she doesn’t get enough opportunities to play like a child and she’s taking the opportunity wholeheartedly.

 

***

 

A couple of rounds in and Jungkook is finding it hard to concentrate on the game. He’s usually very proficient at sports, but having to play in front of V gives him an unexpected knock to his confidence. Jungkook feels a little bit jumpy, as if he might turn around and see V watching him at any moment, judging him for how good he is at bowling.

Yes, he knows it’s ridiculous. But the whole situation with V is ridiculous right now and so he doesn’t think his line of reasoning is too absurd. Besides, the idea of V’s eyes on him is more off-putting than it may seem. (Unfortunately, the fight with V didn’t make Jungkook’s feelings for him dissipate entirely, even if nowadays he kind of wants to punch V in the face as well as kiss him.)

“What’s wrong, Goldy?” Suga asks curiously, noticing Jungkook’s distraught expression. Jungkook rolls his eyes and ignores him, focusing his energy instead on setting his expression to neutral and aiming this shot right.

“Goldy?” J-Hope questions, directing a strange look at Suga.

“It’s short for ‘goldfish’. Because he always moves his mouth like he’s going to say something, but he never does,” Suga grins.

“Hey, that’s cruel,” V says instinctively. “So what if he’s shy?” Jungkook finds himself smiling slightly at the way V is sticking up for him. He tries to focus on not dropping the bowling ball as his heartbeat quickens without his permission. _Come on, Jungkook. That thing with V is over. Focus._

Suga snorts. “Don’t act like you don’t mock him for it too.”

Jungkook turns to look at V accusingly: the last time they spoke, V promised he would stop being so rude to Jungkook – but maybe being rude _about_ him comes under a different category. Jungkook sighs to himself. He definitely doesn’t know V as well as he originally thought. He focuses all his attention on the bowling ball with renewed determination, his mind concentrated on knocking down all the pins in one go.

“Hey, I only made fun of him once!” V meanwhile defends himself. “It’s not the same as an ongoing nickname. Cut it out.”

“I don’t mean anything by it,” Suga grumbles. His words are muffled by the Pink Ladies cheering for Jungkook, who just scored a strike. “Besides, nicknames are nice. We’ve all got them.”

“We chose ours,” LE points out. “I doubt Jungkook would choose to go by ‘goldfish’ if he had a choice in the matter.”

“You never know,” Hani laughs, joining the conversation after knocking down zero pins. “Maybe he really likes sea creatures.”

“What the fuck, Hani?” J-Hope snorts. “Goldfish don’t live in the _sea_. They’re _pets_.”

“They don’t come ready-made in little bowls for five-year-olds to take home, you prick,” she chortles. “They had to come from somewhere.”

“You guys are such hard work,” V says with a roll of his eyes as he picks up a bowling ball, ready to have his go. Jungkook can’t help but watch as V aims the ball with precision, his stance less precise than Jungkook’s but just as graceful. V also scores a strike.

Jungkook and V may not have spoken to each other, or even texted, since their argument in the park, but Jungkook feels his competitive streak surfacing nevertheless. _It’s on._

 

***

 

“Congratulations Kookie!" Jimin squeals when Jungkook scores another strike. His and V’s scores are pretty close now, even if V has the upper-hand by a few points. (They’re not technically playing against each other anyway, being in different lanes, but that doesn’t stop Jungkook from wanting to win.)

Hearing the nickname, V looks over in their direction just as Jungkook stiffens. "Don't call me that," Jungkook responds automatically. He doesn't mean to come across as rude, of course, but that nickname is reserved for Taehyung. Nobody else can call him that - it's their thing. Jungkook shortens 'Taehyung' to 'Tae' and Taehyung shortens 'Jungkook' to 'Kookie'; it's an unspoken agreement that those nicknames are exclusive to one another.

"Don't be rude, Jungkook; it's his birthday," Jin admonishes.

"Sorry," Jungkook apologises as he notices how Jimin looks vaguely hurt. "But you can't call me that."

"What can I call you then?" Jimin asks.

"I don't know, maybe my name?"

"Alright, sassy," Jisoo laughs. "How about just Kook?"

"Is that meant to be ironic?" Rosé smirks. "Because I'm pretty sure Jungkook is the opposite of a kook."

"What is a kook?" Jisoo asks curiously as she picks out a bowling ball. (She’s working her way through the different weights, wondering whether any of them will help her knock down more than 4 pins per turn. No luck so far.)

"A mad or eccentric person," Hani answers immediately.

"Alright, Namjoon," J-Hope sneers.

"If you're calling me a walking dictionary then I'll take that as a compliment," Hani responds breezily.

“I think he’s calling you a dork,” Suga corrects, taking the bowling ball that LE passes to him before stepping up to have his go.

It’s common knowledge that the school’s resident genius Kim Namjoon passed his A Levels with flying colours, before he changed his mind about which university course to study and chose to do an extra year of school to focus on languages instead of continuing with his humanities subjects. But, as admirable as Namjoon’s work ethic may be, it doesn’t earn him any respect among the majority of the students, who instead choose to brand him as a ‘dork’ or a ‘try hard’.

“Why are you guys so harsh on Namjoon?” Hani pouts. She looks round at them, a confused expression on her face. “You don’t even know him. He’s in my French class and he’s really nice.”

“It’s because he’s clever, so they all feel intimidated by him,” Jimin laughs.

“Yeah, okay Jimin. Just because you can get straight As without even trying,” Jin mutters pitifully.

“Aw, is someone jealous?” Jimin coos. He up his bowling ball and heads over to the lane purposefully as Jisoo pouts at her measly score of 2.

“Well for some people it’s not so easy,” Jin complains. “I’m really struggling with English Lit at the moment and I swear to God I’m not going to take the year again.”

“You mean you’re not going to take the year again, _again_ ,” Rosé smirks.

“Shut up Rosé,” Jin says crossly.

Rosé blanches. Jin’s never rude to her. “Oh. Sorry,” she says in sudden realisation, a genuinely apologetic expression on her face. “You know I’m only teasing.”

“Hey Jin, did you say English Lit?” Hani interrupts.

“Yeah, why?” Jin frowns. “You don’t take it, do you?”

“No, but I’m pretty sure Namjoon took it last year,” Hani explains. “When I was having trouble with Psychology he was really cool about it and lent me his old notes. I’m sure he’d do the same for you if I asked him about it.”

“Oh, that might be really useful. Thanks, Hani,” Jin smiles.

“No problem!” she grins before hopping towards the lane to take her turn.

 

***    

 

The first game ends with Jungkook and V as the winners in their respective lanes. Thanks to all the faffing and joking around, the game took a little longer to complete than Jimin expected, so they agree to have a break to order some drinks and maybe a few snacks.

Jungkook excuses himself to go to the toilet, but as he walks away from his friends he hears footsteps behind him; someone has obviously decided to tag along. Jungkook turns around and is rather surprised to see Taehyung staring back at him.

“Why are you following me to the bathroom?” Jungkook questions as they enter the gents’ toilets.

Taehyung looks at the row of urinals and the one measly cubicle in the corner and replies, “Kind of an elevated term for the loos, isn’t it? Unless you want to bathe in one of _them_ ,” he concedes, pointing at a urinal.

“Piss off,” Jungkook mutters.

“Nice choice of words,” Taehyung smirks.

Jungkook turns to Taehyung in resignation. They haven’t spoken properly since the argument in the park and they obviously have a few things to set straight. (Oh, the irony.) “Why are you here?” Jungkook sighs.

“I needed the toilet, is that alright with you?”

“No, I mean why are you _here_?” Jungkook insists.

“At Jimin’s birthday party?” Taehyung cocks an eyebrow. “I got an invite; didn’t you?”

“Will you stop being annoying for one second and talk to me like a normal human being?” Jungkook enquires as calmly as he can manage (i.e. rather agitatedly).

“Okay,” Taehyung rolls his eyes tiresomely. “But I clearly don’t understand the question.”

Jungkook sighs again. “Don’t you think we should talk about what happened between us?”

Taehyung frowns, his expression turning more serious before he responds hesitantly, “I thought there was no ‘us’?”

“Well, there isn’t, but –”

“Then what is there to talk about?” Taehyung’s expression is unreadable and Jungkook finds he has to look away before he does something stupid, like trying to make Taehyung cheer up and smile or telling him that they should forgive each other and go back to sneaking around and flirting on the down-low.

“I’d like to be friends,” Jungkook says eventually.

Taehyung bites his lip, trying to stop the words ‘but I want more’ from spilling out of his mouth. “I’d like that too,” he says after a second, because being a friend to Jungkook is better than being nothing to him. Besides, they never actually labelled what they were before. He doesn’t have any claim over Jungkook – Jungkook said so himself.

“Great. So can we just…” Jungkook pauses. “Start again?”

Taehyung breathes a sigh of relief. He could really use a do-over. “That sounds good to me.”

“Cool. Friends it is,” Jungkook confirms, sticking out his hand for Taehyung to shake.

Taehyung looks at his outstretched hand in amusement. “Jungkook, what are you doing?”

“We shake on it,” Jungkook frowns, waving his hand in front of Taehyung’s face. “It’s what friends do, right?”

“What kind of self-respecting teenagers shake hands on friendship?” Taehyung scoffs. “Do you even _have_ friends?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually attacking me for that again.” He rolls his eyes. “But no, you’re right; the self-respecting bit was where I fell down. Wasn’t aware you had any self-respect,” Jungkook shrugs. (He’s secretly pretty proud of his quick-witted response.)

“Savage,” Taehyung chuckles. He then grabs Jungkook’s hand and shakes it, because what harm could that possibly do?

A lot of harm is the answer, apparently. Taehyung doesn’t want to let go of Jungkook’s hand – and apparently Jungkook doesn’t want to let go either because they both hold onto each other wordlessly. Taehyung instinctively brushes his thumb over Jungkook’s fingers and Jungkook looks down at their hands with a feeling akin to nostalgia. As soon as they let go of each other’s hands, it’s like letting go of the blossoming romance they had over summer and everything it could become. Jungkook isn’t entirely sure he’s ready for that just yet. But they don’t get much more time to hold onto the past because the next thing they know, the door swings open.

Their hands separate just in time for J-Hope to appear next to them and ask them what on earth they’re doing. “Everyone’s waiting on you,” he frowns as he looks at the two of them in confusion. “Why are you still in here?”

“We were doing Rock Paper Scissors for who gets to use the cubicle,” V replies sheepishly. Jungkook tries to conceal his surprise; he knows that V takes Drama as a subject, but he’s still impressed at how seamlessly he carries off the lie.

“What the hell, you always use the urinals anyway. Did you just want an excuse to play Rock Paper Scissors or something?” J-Hope wonders.

“You caught me,” V grins. “Alright, you take the cubicle Jungkook. You won six out of ten games anyway,” he chuckles.

Jungkook resists the temptation to roll his eyes at V’s antics as he obediently heads into the cubicle.

“Ten games?” J-Hope snorts. “How many were you going up to?”

“Best of 12,” V replies easily. “It was going to be best of 3, then best of 5, but I kept losing.” He looks at J-Hope decisively. “Actually, I don’t even need the toilet anymore. Come on, let’s get back to the game.”

Jungkook hears the door shut behind them as J-Hope and V head back to their friends, and he’s left wondering what on earth that was all about if V didn’t even need the toilet in the first place.

 

***

 

Following his conversation with Jungkook at Jimin’s birthday party, the next week is a lot easier for Taehyung. He smiles at Jungkook in the hallway instead of looking away; he makes polite conversation with him when the T-Birds hang out with the Pink Ladies; and they obviously don't have any deep discussions but it's nice.

It's not enough, but it's nice.

Somehow Taehyung manages to convince himself that his feelings for Jungkook will disappear as long as they both continue to behave like friends instead of boyfriends. Something to do with a self-fulfilling prophecy, he thinks. (Two of his friends take psychology, so Taehyung obviously completely knows what he's talking about.)

Either way, Taehyung would rather be miserable and 'straight' than be in a relationship with Jungkook but feel forced to come out.

He convinces himself that this is for the best.

 

***

 

Jungkook, it turns out, isn't finding his new arrangement of friendship with Taehyung much better than ignoring each other completely. It still feels the same to him, even if not so secretive.

Jungkook tries to stop the butterflies in his stomach from surfacing when Taehyung smiles at him or asks him about his day, but it's hard. And it's made even harder by the fact that Jungkook knows he shouldn't feel like this anymore. He and Taehyung said 'friends only': there’s no room for romantic feelings in such an agreement.

Feeling this way almost reminds him of his crush on Taehyung over summer; how Jungkook knew he liked Taehyung and could only hope Taehyung felt the same way - except that this time, Jungkook doesn't have much hope for the future.

On Friday he feels pretty exhausted from pretending to be fine all week. When he walks into the kitchen, he expects to be greeted by an empty room or perhaps his mother making a cup of tea, but what he does not expect is to see his mother and Junghwa sitting at the kitchen table engaged in conversation.

It's _today._

Jungkook drops his school bag in a dramatic gesture of excitement, all the drama in his life forgotten momentarily, and his bag makes a loud thumping sound as it hits the floor. Junghwa looks up at the sound and positively squeals.

"Jungkook!" she beams, cutting herself off mid-sentence. She hops up from her seat and envelops Jungkook in an all-encompassing hug.

"I've missed you," Jungkook murmurs as he hugs her back tightly.

"It's been too long!" Junghwa agrees happily. She pulls back and grins at him. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Aren't you supposed to be working this week though?" Jungkook asks apprehensively.

"Technically yes," Junghwa giggles, "but it's the weekend so I'm taking some time off. Besides, I can do my studying while you're at school!"

Oh yeah, school is still a thing. Jungkook tries not to seem annoyed as he realises his time with Junghwa will be much more limited than he originally realised.

"Did you forget about school?" Junghwa asks knowingly.

"You know me too well," Jungkook chuckles.

"How's it going, anyway? Your mum said you did well at GCSEs but I don't even know what subjects you're taking this year." She sits back down on the chair and pulls out the empty one next to it for Jungkook to sit down.

"I'm doing Music, PE and Art,” Jungkook says as he sits on the kitchen chair. "They're going okay, but it's hard getting used to the workload," he admits.

"Wow, Music," Junghwa grins. "Do you remember the days when we used to put on shows for our families?" she giggles.

Ah yes, Jungkook remembers. When they were still kids, up until around when Junghwa turned 13, they would perform duets together every time the two families got together. They rotated between calling their act 'the Jung siblings' and 'Junghwook' (both of which they thought were highly innovative and intelligent at the time). And although the duo no longer perform together, choosing to go separate ways in their musical careers, they still refer to each other as Hwook; an ongoing joke that will regrettably never die.

"Don't remind me," Jungkook says with a roll of his eyes, but he's smiling. "I actually feel kind of sad we stopped doing that, though. I've missed out on a lot of performance practice and it's awkward trying to sing in front of people I don't know... My teacher keeps telling me I need to be more confident if I actually want to do well," he grimaces.

"Maybe we should take it up again," Junghwa teases.

"I used to love watching you two perform," Jungkook's mother smiles warmly. "I'd be very happy to support you if you started singing together again."

"Thanks mum, but that's definitely not going to happen," Jungkook laughs. “Junghwa has better things to be doing anyway – she’s a big shot actress now,” he smirks.

“Shut up, it’s just drama school,” she grins. “But when I get invited to the Oscars, I’ll make sure that you’re my plus one,” she says graciously.

“I appreciate it,” Jungkook snickers.

“Stop mocking me!” Junghwa protests. “I’m going to make it big. You’ll see.”

“I never said you wouldn’t!” Jungkook insists, but his cheeky grin says otherwise.

“I’ll leave you two to catch up,” Jungkook’s mother says decisively, taking her tea into the other room. She can feel when she isn’t needed.

“Talk to you later, Mrs Jeon,” Junghwa calls pleasantly, before turning to Jungkook urgently. “Okay. It’s been over a year. What have I missed?”

Jungkook laughs, leaning back in his chair. “Where do I start? My life is obviously _very_ interesting.”

“Don’t be like that,” Junghwa scoffs. “Your life is very interesting to _me._ Now tell me everything.” She grins as he raises an eyebrow at her cockily.

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Junghwa repeats constructively. “How’s school? How are your friends? And most importantly, where do you keep the food because I was on the train for 3 hours and I’m starving?”

Jungkook grins happily. He’s missed her. Junghwa can be pretty dramatic, and overly straight-forward when she’s speaking to people, but Jungkook finds that sort of approach refreshing. (Especially since he’s been spending time with ‘V’ who can’t seem to ever express what he really means.)

“We didn’t have anything planned for tea, but we’ll have snacks in the cupboards somewhere,” Jungkook responds. “Or, actually – I know this café that does good food; we could go there if you fancy going out?”

“I’d love to go out with you,” Junghwa replies, shooting him a cheesy wink.

“Still gay,” Jungkook reminds her as he gets up from his seat and puts his hands in his pockets to make sure he has some money.

“Still too hot for you anyway,” Junghwa responds with a flip of her hair. She grabs her coat from the back of the chair and nods at Jungkook. “You ready? You’ve got to show me around by the way – I haven’t been to this area before,” she smiles excitedly.

“I’ve only been here a month and a half,” Jungkook shrugs. “But sure.”

When they head out of the house with a quick goodbye to Mrs Jeon and begin the walk down to the café, Jungkook finally feels as free as he did over summer. It’s been so long since he’s seen Junghwa and it feels lovely to be hanging out with her again; just like old times. Junghwa links arms with him on the way to the café and launches into explanations about her course this year and all the different people she met during Freshers, causing Jungkook to smile at her happily. Maybe reconnecting with a childhood friend is exactly what he needs to get his mind off Taehyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> namjoon finally got a mention yayy
> 
> hope you guys liked this chapter!


	7. you better shape up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junghwa gives Jungkook some relationship advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, I know I wrote these characters so I'm inherently biased but I am in love with Jungkook and Junghwa's friendship tbh
> 
> this chapter is focused around the week of Junghwa's visit, but it's important for the character development so I hope you guys like it!

“So tell me,” Junghwa says suddenly as they sit down at a table in the café. “Do you fancy any of the guys around here?” She leans forward in her seat, awaiting Jungkook’s reply, and Jungkook smiles. Junghwa was the first person Jungkook told that he was gay, and the first thing she’d asked was “So which guy do you have a crush on?” It makes Jungkook happy to think that nothing’s changed between them, even after not speaking for a while.

“I... Actually, there is someone,” Jungkook admits. “But it’s kind of complicated.”

“How so?” Junghwa asks interestedly as she browses the menu. “Is he dating somebody else or something? Also what’s good to eat here?”

“I’ve heard the chips are good,” Jungkook answers distractedly. “And no, he’s not dating anyone. It’s just...”

“He’s not straight, is he?” Junghwa asks worriedly. Jungkook lets out a surprised laugh at how concerned she seems by his crush’s potential heterosexuality.

“Stop jumping to conclusions. And no, he’s gay too. But he’s not out yet. We kind of had a thing over summer but... Then school started and people were everywhere and it got too hard.” Jungkook looks down at the table, fidgeting with the corners of his menu instead of meeting Junghwa’s gaze. More so than anything else, Jungkook feels incredibly disappointed. He and Taehyung were only hanging out for a couple of months, but there was something special there and it really could have turned into something amazing, if only Taehyung would have given them a chance. But never mind.

“Hold on, you had a ‘thing’ with someone over summer?” Junghwa asks, almost accusingly. She opens her mouth to continue, but then a waitress appears at their table - the same one who served Jungkook and Taehyung on their ice cream date - and Junghwa clamps her mouth shut again.

“What can I get for you?” Solji asks politely, getting out her notepad.

“Just some chips please, to share,” Jungkook requests as he notices Junghwa reaching for the menu in panic.

“Anything else?” Solji asks as she notes down their order.

“No, that will be fine for now,” Junghwa smiles, handing their menus over to Solji, who takes them and carries them back to the counter. Junghwa turns back to Jungkook urgently. “You had a _thing_ with someone over summer,” she states, much more accusatory this time, “and you didn’t tell me? Not even a measly text to inform your honorary big sister of such an important life development?” she pouts.

“It’s not like you texted me either,” Jungkook says, amused.

“Shut up. I was busy,” she smiles. “But so were you by the sounds of it. Go on, spill.”

“It was really good,” Jungkook admits, his face taking on a distant expression as he reminisces about how wonderful things were between him and Taehyung over summer. “We got on great and there was never a dull moment with him, even if we were just talking. And oh my God, the first time we kissed, it was just -” The word ‘amazing’ dies on his lips as Jungkook stops, feeling all of a sudden like he doesn’t want to talk about it. Not when he has to speak as if it’s all in the past. “I actually don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s over now,” he explains quietly. “It was great… but now it’s just sad.”

“Why did it end?” Junghwa questions, her voice much softer than before.

Jungkook bites his lip, wondering whether he can tell her. But she has never met Taehyung; in fact, she’ll be gone in a week’s time and probably never _will_ meet Taehyung. Jungkook really needs to confide in someone and receive some helpful, informed and unbiased advice. Given the circumstances, Junghwa couldn’t be a better choice.

“We ended up at the same school,” Jungkook begins hesitantly, “but that was kind of a surprise. When we were together over summer I didn’t know that I’d be moving back here, and he lived a while away anyway so I never expected to see him. I guess we were both a bit shocked and we didn’t have a cover story ready, so when we saw each other again in front of all of our friends, he just kind of... pretended he didn’t know me.” Jungkook gulps, a feeling of dread hitting him. Saying it out loud makes it feel more real. “He started being really rude to me in front of our friends, just to throw them off or whatever. We tried to meet up a couple times, but you know how I hate pretending, especially with something like this... And we ended up fighting about it too and then we just, I don’t know. Agreed to forget the whole thing ever happened.” He sees Junghwa’s eyes fill with pity and he’s struck with the sudden urge to cry. He hadn’t quite realised the extent of the toll this thing with Taehyung was taking on his mind - but talking everything through makes him realise just what he’s lost. He looks away from Junghwa, not sure how to cope with seeing her concern for him displayed so transparently on her face.

“Jungkook, look at me,” Junghwa says softly. Jungkook’s eyes remain glued to the table. “Okay,” she sighs, “even if you won’t look at me, I think you really need to think about what happened. This is gonna be tough love so prepare yourself, okay? But from what you said... He really didn’t treat you well enough. First breakups are always the worst, so keep that in mind. You deserve someone so much better than that arsehole, okay? Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah I’m listening,” Jungkook mumbles. He looks up at Junghwa with a faint smile. “The problem was only when other people were around though. When it was just us, he couldn’t have treated me better. Ugh, I’m so confused,” he groans, resting his head on the table in defeat.

“It’s not treating you well enough if he only cares for you when you’re alone,” Junghwa points out. “Jungkook. Stop being so dramatic.” She flicks him on the back of the head and he flinches, sitting back up.

“What was that for?” he huffs.

“For being a drama queen,” she sniggers. “But seriously. If he can’t be decent to you around other people then it’s not worth it.” She pauses, curious as to how deep Jungkook’s feelings really go. “How much do you like him?”

Jungkook sighs. “I don’t know,” he answers honestly. “If you’d asked me at the beginning of September I would’ve told you he’s the best thing that’s happened to me… But the way he’s acted around me recently just makes me feel like I imagined it or something.” He frowns. “I don’t really like the person that he claims to be in front of everybody else.” He looks at Junghwa beseechingly. “Is that bad?”

“That you don’t like how he is with his friends?” Junghwa asks sympathetically. “No, that’s not bad. It’s actually pretty common.”

Jungkook sighs. “It sucks. I know it sounds stupid… but he treated me like shit and I still miss him,” he mutters.

Solji arrives with their bowl of chips and a couple of napkins, effectively closing off the conversation for a second.

“Thank you,” Jungkook mutters as Solji walks away again. He picks at one of the chips, not feeling so hungry anymore.

“Obviously I don’t know him, but he sounds like a bit of a dick to me,” Junghwa shrugs as she picks up a chip from the bowl.

“You’re right; you don’t know him,” Jungkook agrees.

“Do _you_?” Junghwa asks, her eyebrows raised.

Jungkook gulps. He doesn’t know how to answer, but luckily he doesn’t have to because in the next minute Junghwa shoves the chip into her mouth, bites down on it and then spits it out into her hand when she realises how hot it is. Her face is stricken with panic and Jungkook struggles to stifle a laugh.

Junghwa looks down at the floor embarrassedly, averting her eyes from Jungkook’s mirthful expression, and Jungkook smiles openly. He breaks all the chips in half to give them a chance to cool down while Junghwa regains her composure.

She quickly recovers, not the type to be easily embarrassed, and looks up at Jungkook as if an idea has just occurred to her. “Maybe you should try dating some other people,” she suggests.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Why?” he asks before he can stop himself. The idea of dating someone other than Taehyung just feels… weird.

“Well, this thing with this guy over summer was your first time seeing someone, kissing someone, all that jazz, right?” Junghwa asks casually as she munches away on some of the cooler chips.

Jungkook struggles to keep his embarrassment at bay. It’s only Junghwa – he shouldn’t feel awkward discussing kissing with her. But… it’s personal. “Sure,” he replies, blaming his delayed response on the food.

“So maybe you just think it was special because it was your first time being intimate with someone like that,” she continues wisely. “But if you date someone else you may find that the same connection is pretty easy to find. And if you can date someone that treats you better than this jerk, then that’s a definite perk.”

“Don’t call him a jerk,” Jungkook says quietly. “He’s a good person, really.”

“He is a jerk,” Junghwa says decisively. “I’m just calling it like it is. If he’s ignoring you, being rude to you in front of your friends, putting you down and then making you feel like you should just accept it without question, that’s jerky.” She looks at him sternly, feeling pretty proud of her explanation.

“Jerky is a type of food,” Jungkook mutters, annoyed that this is the only flaw he can find with Junghwa’s argument.

“Listen to me. You can do better than someone who’s embarrassed to be seen with you,” Junghwa insists gently. “Things might change in the future, I don’t know, but for now maybe you should see someone else. Get a feel for what it’s like to be shown off and appreciated.”

“Whatever. How am I meant to just find someone to ask out? Gay people don’t grow on trees.”

“And what a tree that would be,” Junghwa agrees sombrely. “But I think I have an idea – do you see that guy in the booth over there?”

Jungkook follows her gaze and sees a boy who is probably around his age. His hair is jet black save for the fringe, which looks like it might be some shade of pink. He’s definitely attractive, Jungkook can acknowledge that – but somehow Jungkook doubts that the stranger has an adorable boxy grin or an obsession with bubblegum ice lollies.

“What about him?” Jungkook asks.

“He’s been looking over at you since we got here,” Junghwa smiles knowingly.

Jungkook frowns. “Isn’t he out with that girl though?” The boy is sat opposite a cute, baby-faced girl with bright blonde hair that falls to her shoulders, complete with a choppy fringe. They seem immersed in conversation about something, but then the girl says something and the boy turns around, locking eyes with Jungkook.

Jungkook’s eyes widen and he turns around, mortified. He glares at Junghwa. “That was your fault,” he moans.

“I’ll gladly take credit,” Junghwa smirks, looking past Jungkook. (He can’t be sure what she’s looking at: there’s no force on earth that could make him want to turn round again and risk making eye contact with another unknowing stranger in the café.) “He’s coming over,” Junghwa warns as she sits up straighter in her seat.

Out of the corner of his eye Jungkook sees the boy striding confidently over to their table. But once he reaches the table and makes eye contact with Jungkook, he suddenly becomes nervous.

“Can we help you?” Junghwa asks politely as the boy fidgets in his spot.

“Um, hi,” he starts, turning towards Jungkook decisively. He then turns back around rather frantically, Jungkook following the gesture in time to see the blonde-haired girl giving the stranger an encouraging thumbs up. The boy faces Jungkook again, smiling apprehensively. “Sorry to bother you… I just wondered whether you were single and/or gay? I mean, preferably both.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says in surprise, because Junghwa was actually right and Jungkook did not expect that. “Um,” he says uncertainly, feeling his usual nervousness in the face of a new situation kicking in, until Junghwa kicks him underneath the table. Jungkook jolts in his seat at the contact but he tries to play it off as simply shifting position on his chair. He hopes that the stranger doesn’t notice. “Uh, yeah. To both. Actually.”

“Oh,” the stranger says. He seems just as surprised as Jungkook. “Well, um, that’s great. See you around.” He blushes and turns away, walking back over to his friend.

“That was weird,” Jungkook frowns. “Do you think they had a bet on whether I was gay or something?”

“Wow, you are so obtuse,” Junghwa accuses.

“Thanks for kicking me when I’m down,” Jungkook grumbles.

“He so obviously likes you!” Junghwa insists grouchily. “He was just too nervous to say so. Go and talk to him!”

“What? No!” Jungkook protests. “If he was too nervous to say anything then what hope do I have? You know what I’m like with new people.”

Junghwa sighs, looking past Jungkook and presumably at the table where the nervous stranger is sitting with his non-girlfriend. “The girl is laughing at him now. Go on, go over there and set things straight,” she urges.

“I’m not sure I’m capable of setting things _straight_ ,” Jungkook mutters bitterly. But he still stands up from his seat, knowing when to accept defeat. Junghwa can be very persuasive when she wants to be (or rather, she can be very forceful and Jungkook doesn’t have the emotional strength to argue with her).

He reaches the table and the girl beams at him. “Hi,” she says chirpily, her eyes sparkling. She nudges the boy and he reluctantly looks at Jungkook as well, the blush still evident on his cheeks. “He’s not usually so shy,” the girl giggles, gesturing to her friend. “My name’s Lisa, by the way.”

“Jungkook,” he introduces himself. He then looks awkwardly at the boy. “What’s your name?”

“My friends call me Bambam,” the boy answers.

“That’s not a name,” Jungkook snaps, feeling a sense of impending doom at the déjà vu that washes over him. Could the universe really be so cruel as to put him through the same thing again?

“Well my real name is Kunpimook,” Bambam explains easily. “It’s Thai.” He doesn’t look offended by Jungkook’s outburst, which Jungkook supposes he’s grateful for. Although he’s not really convinced he cares.

Jungkook opens his mouth to greet the boy by his proper name, but he quickly snaps it shut again. The name sounded quite difficult to pronounce and Jungkook doesn’t want to butcher it. “Bambam it is,” he agrees with a terse smile.

“Anyway, sorry for interrupting your meal,” Bambam apologises. He seems much more relaxed now that he’s sitting with Lisa, munching on a burger while he talks to Jungkook. “I didn’t want to go over but Lisa kind of forced me.”

“Don’t say that! You’ll make him think that he isn’t wanted,” Lisa chastises. “Bambam wanted to ask you out on a date,” she explains. “But apparently he chickened out. Weird, considering how confident and bubbly he is all the time, but whatever.” She shrugs as if those two adjectives aren’t perfect descriptions of the boy Jungkook really wants to go out on a date with.

Jungkook coughs, stalling for time. He almost wants to run back to Junghwa and escape from the café altogether, but he knows that she’ll scold him for not arranging a date; and for what it’s worth, Jungkook does want to know if there’s any truth in her words. “I mean,” Jungkook begins hesitantly. “It is half term next week. So I’m free – if you wanted to go on that date. Or something.” He blushes at his own words, wondering how awkward and stilted they seem to Bambam.

Bambam smiles, giving no indication that Jungkook’s awkwardness fazes him. Jungkook supposes that’s a good thing – but again, he’s not entirely sure how much he cares. “How does Friday sound?” Bambam asks. “We could meet here around 5?”

“Sounds good,” Jungkook answers.

Bambam pulls out his phone from his pocket and passes it to Jungkook. “Type in your number – this way if one of us needs to change the arrangement then we can just let each other know.”

Exchanging phone numbers feels a bit soon for Jungkook, but he does as he’s told. He hands Bambam back his phone and after a second his phone buzzes in his pocket; a text from Bambam so that Jungkook has his number as well.

“Great! I’ll see you next week,” Bambam says as he continues to dig into his burger.

“Uh, sure,” Jungkook says, feeling a bit put out at how little attention Bambam is now paying to him. But perhaps spending time with Taehyung has made Jungkook expect too much constant attention, considering his intensive and full-on approach to new relationships. (Although maybe Taehyung’s attitude is more to do with Jungkook himself than with Taehyung’s behaviour around new people.)

“Nice to meet you,” Jungkook adds to Bambam as he turns away from the table and moves back to Junghwa. “Thanks a lot,” he mutters sarcastically as he sits down in his seat, feeling incredibly embarrassed about having to initiate a conversation like that.

“You’re welcome!” Junghwa grins, oblivious to Jungkook’s inner turmoil.

“I wasn’t being serious,” Jungkook glares.

“I don’t care, I’m taking it,” she mumbles as she munches through the rest of their chips. Jungkook decides against responding, figuring that if he wants any of the food to himself then he’ll have to get stuck in before Junghwa finishes the whole bowl.

“So did you get a date?” Junghwa asks eventually, once all the chips have been demolished.

“Yeah, next Friday,” Jungkook responds disinterestedly.

“Oh yay!” she says excitedly. “That means I can help you get ready! I was worried you would have arranged it for half term.”

“We did,” Jungkook says, confused.

“ _Yes_ , but as in after I’d gone back to uni,” she explains exasperatedly.

Oh. “I should’ve done,” Jungkook mutters to himself. If only he’d thought about it a little more carefully then he could’ve avoided Junghwa’s interference.

“Shut it, you,” she admonishes lightly. “I’m going to make you look really hot,” she proclaims.

Jungkook snorts. “That’ll make a change.”

“First stop is the attitude,” she announces.

“Oh my God, will you stop?” Jungkook groans. “I’m going on a date with a stranger, now will you relax? You’ve taken enough charge of my life as it is.”

“Fine,” Junghwa acknowledges reluctantly. “I’ll stop bothering you about it. But I’m still helping you get ready. Deal?”

“Deal,” Jungkook sighs. He’s kind of excited though, Junghwa’s enthusiasm transferring over to him without his consent. Maybe getting all dressed up for a meal out and spending some time with someone new won’t be so bad after all.

 

***

 

Jungkook has a surprisingly nice weekend, because he spends it with one of his favourite people in the world. Even when Jungkook has to manically blitz through his homework on Sunday evening, it isn’t so bad because Junghwa decides to keep him company by sitting with him and starting her reading for the week.

Monday morning gets off to a very pleasant start when Jungkook wakes up to find Junghwa in the kitchen making pancakes. “Hi!” she says chirpily, waving at him with a spatula.

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “You’re a student,” he states flatly. “Aren’t you supposed to still be asleep until I get home?”

“Why are you complaining?” she scoffs. “I made _food_. Be grateful.”

Jungkook gulps, suddenly hit with déjà vu of the conversation he had with Taehyung on their café date, about how food solves everything. He wonders vacantly whether food could solve his problem of being constantly affected by Taehyung. He then mentally slaps himself as he wonders whether _everything_ that happens nowadays will remind him of Taehyung.

Determinedly ridding his head of such useless thoughts, Jungkook takes the spatula from Junghwa’s hand and hits her on the head with it.

“Rude,” she protests, to which Jungkook chuckles.

“Why are you cooking anyway?” he asks with a small smile as he sits at the kitchen table and waits for the food to be ready.

“Am I not allowed to do something nice for my little Hwook?” she grins.

“Jesus Christ, why do you have to keep calling me that?” he groans, hiding his head in his hands.

“Because it annoys you,” she chuckles. “Anyway, I thought it would be nice to get a good start to the week. You seemed kinda down on Friday and I didn’t want you to wake up and be alone, dreading going to school. So. Here I am.”

“That’s actually pretty considerate of you,” Jungkook contemplates.

 _“Actually?”_ she questions. “I’m always considerate, thank you. Always looking out for you. Here, come check if this is cooked.” She beckons him over with her spatula.

“You’re always looking out for me, but you’re happy to feed me underdone eggs and give me salmonella,” he smirks. He looks in the pan curiously. “Okay, what am I looking for?”

She sighs. “I don’t know why I bothered asking you. If you don’t have a preference then you’re having them brown.”

“Doesn’t ‘brown’ mean ‘burnt’?” Jungkook frowns.

“Brown is overcooked,” Junghwa corrects pointedly. “ _Black_ is burnt.”

“ _Brown_ is burnt. _Black_ is charcoal,” Jungkook argues.

“Fine, you can have it now then!” she says haughtily, scooping the pancake out of the frying pan and onto Jungkook’s plate. One side is still white and a little gloopy, whilst the other side is charred slightly.

Jungkook snorts. “Are you sure you’re not training to be a chef?”

“I don’t know why I bother with you,” she huffs indignantly.

Jungkook laughs. “You’re the best, Hwook,” he says as he bites into the pancake. And really, it’s not too bad. But it could use some sugar and lemon and maybe a little bit more time in the pan.

Junghwa rolls her eyes. “I know. But I won’t be offended if you throw that one away,” she chortles. “Come on, help me with the rest.”

“I have to get ready for school,” Jungkook smirks as he grabs his bag from the floor and makes to go back upstairs.

“I hate you!” Junghwa calls after him.

But they still sit at the kitchen table and eat their (surprisingly decent) pancakes together when Jungkook comes back downstairs.

Junghwa insists on walking with Jungkook to school, because “You’re still a kid!”, even though Jungkook has been walking on his own since term started in September. But Jungkook doesn’t mind, really. He appreciates the company.

As usual, Jimin is waiting for Jungkook outside the school gates and Jungkook waves excitedly, looking forward to his two best friends meeting each other. “Jimin!” he calls over. He watches as Jimin’s eyes widen in surprise: Jungkook doesn’t tend to shout, not being the type who wants to draw attention to himself in any way.

“What’s up, Kook?” he asks as he approaches. He then notices the girl stood beside Jungkook. “Hi, I’m Jimin,” he greets pleasantly.

“I figured as much; Jungkook’s talked about you,” Junghwa smiles. “I’m Junghwa.”

“Junghwa’s been my best friend ever since we were kids,” Jungkook grins.

“I thought I was your best friend,” Jimin pouts indignantly.

“Unbelievable!” Junghwa gasps, turning to look at Jungkook accusingly. (Jungkook might be scared if he didn’t know Junghwa well enough to realise she’s only joking.) “I go away to uni for _one month_ and I’ve already been replaced.”

Jungkook laughs. “You’re both my best friends. Anyway, I need to go to school, so I’ll catch up with you later, yeah?” he says to Junghwa.

“I’ll meet you outside the gates and walk you home!” Junghwa announces.

Jungkook knows better than to try and argue with her. Instead, he just smirks. “Wow, are you going to be regretting that pledge by the end of the week.”

“It’ll do me good to get out of the house,” Junghwa shrugs. “Right. I’d better not make you late, so I’ll be off. Nice meeting you, Jimin!” she grins as she turns back around and heads home. Jungkook hopes that she remembers the way – not that it’s a difficult route, but Jungkook feels very protective of Junghwa; perhaps because she’s always been just as protective of him.

“She seems nice,” Jimin chuckles as they walk into school together.

“She’s very full-on,” Jungkook laughs. “But she’s great.”

“You don’t seem nearly as shy when you’re stood next to her,” Jimin comments offhandedly.

Jungkook shrugs. “She’s not like you guys. If I don’t suck it up and speak to her normally, then she’ll just talk for hours and I’ll never get to say anything,” he jokes (although it’s somewhat true). Jungkook laughs when he notices Jimin’s concerned expression. “We’ve known each other since forever, so I don’t ever feel a need to be nervous,” he explains.

“That’s cute,” Jimin grins, throwing a casual arm round Jungkook’s shoulders as they head to class.

 

***

 

Usually Jin is the first Pink Lady sat down at their lunch table, because food takes priority over most things. However, today he arrives last and when he sits down he begins eating without even looking at any of them.

“Hi to you too,” Rosé says, vaguely annoyed.

“Sorry,” Jin says with his mouth full. “Hi everyone.”

Jimin pouts. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day and you can’t even be bothered to notice?”

“Notice what?” Jin asks cluelessly.

“I’m wearing the jumper you made me!” he says excitedly. As if proving a point, he takes off his jacket and stands up, spinning on the spot for Jin to see. Sure enough, Jimin is wearing the light blue jumper that Jin made him for his birthday. It appears to fit perfectly.

“Is it comfortable?” Jin asks apprehensively. “I was worried when you didn’t wear it last week that maybe you didn’t like it.”

“Oh, Jin,” Jimin sighs condescendingly. “You surely must know by now that I plan my outfits well in advance. Anyway,” he chirps, back to grinning again, “I really love it! It’s super comfy and it fits me perfectly. I don’t know how you did it.”

Jisoo looks sadly at Jin. “I can’t believe you made him a jumper! Now I feel really inadequate for just _buying_ him clothes.”

Jin ignores her, his focus back on his food now that Jimin has made his announcement, and Jisoo pouts. Jimin throws his arms around Jisoo’s neck from behind and grins. “I love your present too, Chi Chu. I’m wearing the shirt you got me tomorrow.”

“Yay!” she cheers, holding Jimin’s hands and swinging them around in celebration.

“I’m also going to wear the earrings you got me, Rosé,” Jimin says happily as he sits back down, successfully detaching himself from Jisoo’s grip. “They didn’t really go with this jumper but they’re going to look really cool with my outfit tomorrow!”

Rosé smiles. “I’m glad you like them.”

“She spent _ages_ choosing them for you,” Jisoo discloses. “We went shopping together and she must have picked out about five pairs before deciding. And then she changed her mind a few more times before eventually settling on the ones she wrapped up for you,” she grins.

Jimin beams. “Thank you for putting so much thought into it,” he says, and Rosé rolls her eyes in response, but Jimin knows that it’s only because she doesn’t know how to receive compliments.

“Oh, Jungkook!” Jimin continues. “I’ve also been using that styling mousse you got me – did I tell you?” Jungkook shakes his head and Jimin smiles excitedly. “You got me the _best_ brand! How did you know –”

Jin sighs loudly, cutting off Jimin’s question. When Jimin and the other Pink Ladies look at Jin questioningly, Jin simply sighs again.

“Is there something wrong?” Rosé says snarkily.

Jin looks up at his friends, seemingly just noticing their stares. “Oh. No. I’m just glad to finally be eating,” he says tiredly.

“What do you mean?” Jungkook asks.

They all ignore Jimin’s muttered comment about how Jin continually steals Jimin’s place in the spotlight.

“You know that I’m always early to lunch!” Jin elaborates, looking round at them with wide eyes to seek their confirmation. “But my teacher held me back today after class and basically told me I needed to up my game if I want to pass my exams at the end of the year.”

“Is that for English Lit?” Jisoo asks sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Jin sighs. “I might have to ask Hani to follow up on getting Namjoon’s notes… I think she only mentioned it in passing to make me feel better, but I guess I might really need the help.”

“There’s no problem needing help,” Jisoo says gently. “Hey, maybe Namjoon could give you tutoring or something! That would be awesome. He’s, like, super smart,” she informs him, as if she’s sharing a trade a secret.

“We all _know_ he’s super smart. That’s why Jin wants his notes,” Rosé snickers.

“I’m just saying!” Jisoo protests.

“It might be worth asking Namjoon if he’d tutor you, come to think of it,” Jimin suggests. “Especially if he’s friends with Hani, I’m sure he’d be happy to help.”

“He’s probably far too busy for that,” Jin chuckles. “Besides, I still have _some_ pride left. But I’ll definitely ask about the notes.”

“Is that why you were so late to lunch then? Just because of the teacher?” Jisoo asks as she stuffs another bite of burger into her mouth. (If she only eats meat on one of the days in a week, she can still call herself a vegan, right?)

“Oh!” Jin exclaims in surprise. “Yes, one of the reasons, but I also went to my locker to collect this.” He roots around in his bag for a minute before holding up a Pink Lady jacket, which looks shinier and less worn than the others. “This is for you, Jungkook!” Jin grins proudly.

Jungkook takes the jacket and looks at it in awe. It may sound silly, but it makes Jungkook really feel like he’s part of something. “Thank you, Jin,” he says with a wide smile.

“No problem, Kook,” he says softly. Jin feels a little like a proud older brother as he watches Jungkook put on the jacket over his t-shirt. “It fits okay?” he asks anxiously.

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods. He flexes his arms a little and wiggles about to check there are no movement restrictions. (Rosé gives him a strange look, but Jisoo laughs and wiggles along with him.) “It fits really well – it stays on, but it’s roomy enough that it isn’t uncomfortable. How do you do it?” he enquires.

“I’m really good,” Jin boasts shamelessly.

“Typical,” Rosé laughs.

“I am! I’m very talented!” Jin protests.

“Usually I’d be laughing at you too, Jin, but I have to admit that this jumper has given me newfound faith in you,” Jimin announces seriously.

“You’re such a suck-up,” Rosé smirks.

“You’d better start sucking up too, Rosé, or you’ll find I won’t make you anything for Christmas,” Jin says happily.

“Rude,” Rosé complains, but she doesn’t direct any more snide remarks at Jin for the rest of the day.

 

***

 

The T-Birds spend most nights that week at J-Hope’s house, stood in his garage and trying to figure out how to fix up the battered, run-down truck. The problem is that none of them have much experience in fixing automobiles, except for Suga who doesn’t like the thought of doing more mechanics outside of his work hours. Especially if no one’s paying him.

“For fuck’s sake, Suga, I’m not giving you money to fix a damn truck,” LE complains when Suga voices his worries. “It’s not even me who wanted it repaired in the first place.”

Hani sighs to herself, wondering when V will turn up so that they can get started on mending the vehicle and stop arguing about the technicalities.

Suga looks towards J-Hope hopefully, but J-Hope shakes his head. “No way, dude. I’m already keeping the truck here in my house for you.”

“Yeah, why is that?” Hani frowns thoughtfully. “What’s wrong with your house, Suga?”

“I don’t have a garage,” Suga shrugs.

“Look, if we all pitch in to pay for the things we need to fix this truck, it will be more of a group effort, and we can split the costs evenly so it’s fair,” J-Hope interjects. “Anyway Suga, don’t you like the idea of bossing people around?” he grins, nudging Suga with his elbow. “Just tell us what needs to be done and we’ll do it. It’ll be fun!”

“Speak for yourself,” LE groans. “He’s outspoken enough as it is.”

“What’s your problem?” Suga grumbles.

“My _problem_ is that I do enough fucking work already, between school and homework and waitressing and overtime; and I don’t want to spend any more time taking orders,” LE snaps.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Suga responds, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I didn’t realise that you had school _and_ a job. I wonder what that must be like.”

“Oh my _God_ ,” Hani complains, breaking between them before they get into a fight. “What’s wrong with you two? Can’t you ever spend a minute in each other’s company without freaking the frickle frack out?”

LE snorts, the atmosphere lightening almost immediately. “Do you even know what ‘frickle frack’ means?” LE questions, shaking her head disapprovingly at Hani’s antics. But it always works: the tension always dissipates and the others always end up laughing at Hani instead of shouting at each other. LE has witnessed such a situation enough times to know the deal, but Hani still manages to calm LE down by saying stupid things that catch her off guard. Like taking ‘frickle frack’ out of context.

“Does it matter?” Hani shrugs. “You guys need to stop jumping down each other’s throats.”

Suga splutters. “Okay, let’s not read too much into _that_ one.”

“What?” Hani asks innocently.

J-Hope pats Hani on the back. “Don’t worry about him. You can make an innuendo out of anything if you try hard enough.”

“Guys, I got paint!” V announces as he walks through the door of J-Hope’s garage.

“Hi V!” Hani grins excitedly. V grins back: Hani’s always so happy to see him and he finds it kind of adorable.

“Why?” J-Hope chuckles. “You know we can’t paint it yet. We have actual things to sort out before we get around to interior decorating.”

“If it’s on the _outside_ of a vehicle, it’s hardly _interior_ decorating,” LE says disapprovingly.

“You wanna go?” J-Hope asks intimidatingly, puffing out his chest and getting up in LE’s personal space.

LE simply laughs, shoving him away from her. “Shut up, you prat. I could have someone kill you if I wanted.”

“You would never!” J-Hope gasps dramatically.

“You’re right; she would never and she _could_ never,” Hani interjects. “What the hell do people think your sister is anyway?” she asks LE, highly amused. “She’s a thief, and a fucking idiot, if we’re getting technical, but you’re making her sound like some assassin or something.”

LE shrugs. “She could be an assassin for all I know. Who cares?”

“I think you should probably care if she’s an assassin,” V responds nonchalantly. “Anyway, we don’t have to paint it right now. I just thought I’d get it in preparation,” he explains as he puts the can of paint down next to the truck.

J-Hope looks at the paint can. “Why bright red?” he asks curiously.

V grins, his excuse all ready. (It’s definitely not because Jungkook would prefer a red truck to one that’s any other colour. That would be stupid.) “Because all the coolest cars are red! Like Ferraris, Porsches, Audis, Mazdas…”

Suga raises his eyebrows. “You do realise that all of those brands make cars in other colours too, right?”

V pouts. “But Ferraris,” he insists.

“Red Ferraris are the most obnoxious thing ever,” LE states, unimpressed.

“Exactly!” V grins. “That’s why they’d be perfect for a troupe like us.”

“What the hell, V, did you just say troupe?” Hani laughs. “We’re not part of your theatre group, oh my God.”

“Would ‘gang’ be better?” V asks inquisitively. “Because I almost said that, but then I thought it might sound like we were in the Mafia.”

LE snorts. “Your thought processes are so weird,” she accuses, but she’s smiling. V drapes an arm over her shoulders, acknowledging the statement with pride, and LE chuckles but leans into the gesture all the same.

“Says the person who was just joking about getting an assassin to kill J-Hope,” Suga jibes, looking at LE pointedly.

“Hey, you can’t take J-Hope! He’s my best friend!” V pouts defensively.

“I had him first,” Suga reminds him. And it’s true: he and J-Hope have been friends since way before the pair met any of the other T-Birds – way before they even adopted those nicknames, in fact. Hoseok was Yoongi’s childhood best friend that Yoongi failed to get rid of as the years passed by. He’ll never admit that he’s grateful for Hoseok sticking by his side through thick and thin, but he doesn’t have to because Hoseok already knows.

“You guys are both my number one,” J-Hope says democratically.

“That’s not how Maths works,” Suga mutters.

“Aw, is someone jealous that he’s not my one and only?” J-Hope coos. He pokes Suga in the face and Suga swats him away. LE watches, impressed: it always surprises her how Suga is more patient with J-Hope than he is with any of the other T-Birds. Or perhaps J-Hope is simply braver than the rest of them.

“Shut up,” Suga says half-heartedly. “Just because I’m not straight doesn’t mean my standards are lowered.”

“Burn!” V shouts boisterously, making the girls laugh.

“To be honest, Suga, we should banish you to the Pink Ladies,” Hani teases. “Then you’d have someone to discuss all your gay shit with, plus you could flirt with Jimin more and then we could adopt Rosé. We’d have a clear straight/LGBT split,” she jokes.

V’s easy smile fades ever so slightly, although the others are too busy watching J-Hope’s reaction to notice. Do they really feel like Suga doesn’t fit in with them, just because he’s not straight? He gulps, a feeling of dread building up inside of him. He won’t be cast out of the T-Birds, right?

But no, he’s being stupid. The others are just teasing J-Hope about Rosé. Obviously. There wouldn’t be any more to it. He drags his mind back to the conversation at hand.

“Yeah, I’m sure J-Hope would love that, seeing Rosé all the time,” LE grins. “Instead of this dick,” she adds kindly, nodding at Suga. Suga grunts in response, not gracing LE with a reply.

“Not this again,” J-Hope groans.

“As if you don’t like us bringing her up,” Suga laughs. “You fancy her so much. I don’t know why you won’t admit it.”

“So what if I do like her?” J-Hope grins. He then turns to V, his expression immediately transitioning into something more serious and considerate, if not mildly apprehensive. “Hey, dude, you don’t mind, right? If it’s weird for you, I don’t have to act on it.”

“What? No, of course not,” V smiles tightly. “Go for it, mate.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” J-Hope replies, his grin springing back in full force. “Okay, now let’s get started. What do you say, boss?” He turns to Suga excitedly, ready to get started on the car. And although Suga doesn’t seem put out at all by their comments about kicking him out of the T-Birds, V finds himself making conversation about fit girls at school and hot female celebrities a lot more than usual over the next couple of hours.

 

***

 

“I’m so excited that it’s half term!” Jimin grins as he and Jungkook walk out of the school gates on Friday afternoon.

“What’s so exciting? All my teachers gave me so much to do over the holidays,” Jungkook grumbles. “It’s meant to be a break, not a time to do more work.”

“Someone’s antsy this afternoon,” Jimin observes. “What’s up?”

“Hwook!” a voice calls out loudly before Jungkook can reply. Jungkook looks up at the name and waves slightly, hoping that Junghwa will calm down and stop attracting people’s attention with her wide smile and her overly loud voice. “Come on, we have a date to get you ready for!” she grins.

And there it is.

Jimin looks at him accusingly. “You have a date tonight?!” he asks Jungkook. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jungkook is reminded of his conversation with Junghwa last Friday, when she verbally attacked him over his summer romance that he neglected to tell her about. Jimin’s reaction to the news of Jungkook’s date is similar, to say the least, and Jungkook wonders whether he accidentally picked a second Junghwa to have as a second best friend.

“Because I’m allowed to have my own life without sharing every detail with my friends?” he says pointedly.

“Oh. You were embarrassed,” Jimin deciphers.

“Whatever. That too,” Jungkook mumbles, wondering how Jimin can read him so well after only knowing him a month and a half. He then shakes his head at himself at the thought, because after remembering how close he and Taehyung got to each other in a month and a half, his connection with Jimin seems like nothing.

Damn it. Why won’t Taehyung stop popping up in Jungkook’s thoughts when he’s clearly unwanted?

“Jungkook, come on,” Junghwa urges once Jungkook and Jimin reach where she’s stood waiting a little further down the street. “I’ve been rooting through your wardrobe and I think I’ve found the perfect outfit,” she says proudly.

“You’ve been what?” Jungkook asks disbelievingly. “That’s a serious invasion of privacy.”

“Like privacy even exists when you’re with me,” she scoffs. She then looks at Jimin apologetically. “Sorry, but he’s got to go. We’ve only got a bit over an hour,” she explains hastily as she starts to drag Jungkook away.

“That’s okay; you’re obviously in a rush,” Jimin chuckles. “Anyway, I’ll see you next Thursday at Jisoo’s, right?” he asks Jungkook.

“Yeah, course,” Jungkook agrees as he tries to struggle out of Junghwa’s grip. “I’ll see you there.”

“Great,” Jimin smiles. He watches as Junghwa latches onto Jungkook and practically pulls him down the street. “Have fun!” Jimin calls after them delightedly.

 

***

 

“Tada!” Junghwa says excitedly, gesturing to the clothes lying out on Jungkook’s bed.

He supposes he’s grateful that she didn’t pick anything more extravagant than simple ripped jeans and a t-shirt, but still – “Don’t you think you should have more important things to do with your time than pick out my clothes for me?” he asks, slightly disconcerted.

“Nonsense,” Junghwa dismisses. “You’re the most important thing in my life. Okay – put them on. I’m going to do some makeup on you as well.”

“Oh my God, no,” Jungkook protests. “I don’t want him to think I made too much of an effort. It seemed like a pretty casual arrangement. Um, I also can’t wear this.” He gestures to the t-shirt Junghwa has laid out.

“What? Why not?” Junghwa asks, understandably confused.

Jungkook falters. It’s nothing special – just a plain black tee – but the memories associated with it are hard to forget, even if Jungkook tries. He wore this t-shirt when he and Taehyung had their first kiss. It wouldn’t feel right wearing it on a first date with somebody else.

Jungkook feels slightly nauseous as the reality of the situation settles in. “Do I have to go to this thing tonight? I have his number. I could still cancel,” he says hopefully, although his voice comes out more whiny and pitiful than he intends it to.

Junghwa sits down on the bed and pats the space next to her for Jungkook to sit down as well. “Are you really that worried about it?” she asks. Her voice is sympathetic but the expression on her face looks more like guilt than anything else. “If I’d realised the extent of your nerves I wouldn’t have pressured you into it. I just thought it would be good for you. You know, get your head off this V kid.”

Jungkook sighs. “You’re right. I need to make an effort.” He stands up and gets a similar black t-shirt out of his wardrobe. “Will this look okay? It’s practically the same.”

Junghwa shrugs. “It carries a completely different vibe, but okay, sure.”

“You’re doing a degree in acting, not costume,” Jungkook scoffs. “Okay, scram. I’m gonna get changed.”

A little while later, Junghwa waves Jungkook off at the door as he throws on his jacket and heads down to the café.

Jungkook mentally psyches himself up on the walk down.

Time to get over Taehyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know in the comments any of your thoughts about this chapter or the characters or what'll happen next or ANYTHING because I find it really motivating! ^.^


	8. better forget it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook goes on a date with Bambam!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for over 100 kudos!! I can't believe so many people are reading this hehe yay
> 
> hope you like this chap! :)

Jungkook arrives at the café at 5:10pm and walks in awkwardly, wondering whether he’ll have to sit and wait. He deliberately left it a little late to set off so that such a situation wouldn’t occur, but he has no way of knowing whether Bambam is likely to be on time. He scans the tables and chairs anxiously, his heartbeat evening out when he sees a familiar boy with black hair and a brightly-coloured fringe sat in the corner.

Jungkook walks over and settles into the seat opposite Bambam wordlessly.

Bambam looks up and grins. “Hey, you made it!”

“Here I am,” Jungkook confirms with a small smile.

“Okay, I don’t know much about you, so I made a list of questions, is that weird?” he gushes, waving a crumpled piece of paper in the air for Jungkook to see.

“Um, a little,” Jungkook admits.

“You’ll answer anyway though, right?” Bambam enquires, not seeming worried about Jungkook’s reaction.

“I suppose,” he replies, feeling vaguely uncomfortable.

“Okay. How did you first know you were gay?”

Jungkook blanches. “Too personal,” he states, looking out the window so he doesn’t have to stare at Bambam. “Can we just ask normal questions? Like… what’s your favourite colour?” This was one of the first questions Taehyung asked him, back when Jungkook still knew him as V; and back when ‘V’ meant ‘cute, dorky teenager’ instead of ‘vain, volatile dickhead’. (Maybe he’s being too harsh. V has been nice enough to Jungkook recently – maybe Jungkook just feels he needs a reason to hate V so that he can successfully push his feelings aside.)

“Pink or purple,” Bambam responds easily. “That’s why I got my fringe dyed like this. It’s kind of a mix of both colours. But why’s that important, anyway?”

Jungkook shrugs sadly. “I guess it’s not.”

“Are you okay?” Bambam frowns, noticing Jungkook’s downcast expression.

Jungkook makes a conscious effort to lift the corners of his mouth into a smile. “Yeah, course. Come on, what’s next on your list of questions?”

“Oh, okay!” Bambam exclaims, the grin reappearing on his face. “So. How come I haven’t seen you around here before?”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows, surprised that ‘tell me about your sexual realisation’ is before ‘who are you and where did you come from’ on Bambam’s list. “I only moved here at the end of August,” he explains. “I used to live nearby when I was younger, but our family moved up north a few years ago. We only just came back.”

“May I ask why you decided to come back?” Bambam asks politely, looking at Jungkook interestedly.

“No, you may not,” Jungkook says quietly. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

“Um, sure,” Bambam says, fiddling with the piece of paper in his hands. He scans his list of questions before he seemingly decides against using the questions for conversation ideas. Bambam wonders whether he’s getting too comfortable too soon with Jungkook, so he figures he’d better take a step back. He folds up the paper, shoves it into his pocket and then nods at Jungkook. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Um…” Jungkook falters, because as awkward as he finds Bambam’s question list, he has to admit that it at least stops awkward silences like these. “What made you want to ask me out?” he asks after a second, genuinely curious.

Bambam shrugs. “I noticed you as soon as you walked into the café last weekend. You’re pretty hot, so I thought why not?”

Jungkook smiles faintly. Not exactly the romantic answer he was hoping for, but Bambam hardly knows him so he doesn’t really know what he expected. “Shall we look at the menu?” he suggests timidly, unable to think of a response to Bambam’s statement.

“Oh, sure,” he grins. They both open up their menus and Jungkook feels an acute sense of relief at the fact that all the attention is no longer on him. But still, Bambam continues to make conversation when Jungkook would rather stay silent. “What type of thing are you in the mood for? I’m pretty hungry.” He’s speaking too quickly for Jungkook to get a word in edgeways (which suits him fine, as it happens). “Do you think you want a burger or something like that? They’re pretty filling. I could do with a burger actually, so don’t get that. I’m claiming it. What made you say yes?”

“What?” Jungkook frowns, looking at the menu in confusion. “Say yes to what? We haven’t ordered…”

Bambam laughs. “No, I mean what made you say yes to the date?”

“Oh,” Jungkook says eloquently. “Um. I don’t know really.” He shrugs, hiding his face in the menu so that Bambam doesn’t see him blushing. He feels like it would be too rude to admit that he only said yes to the date because his friend made him.

“Come on, think!” Bambam urges with an encouraging smile. “You think I’m hot too, right?”

“Uh. Sure,” Jungkook agrees without making eye contact. He’s not sure how he feels about having the words put in his mouth like that. “I guess. I mean, like? Objectively.”

Shit. He peeks over his menu to peer at Bambam’s face and sees confusion written over his features. Jungkook wants to hit himself. Objectively? What is he thinking? He didn’t come here just to offend his date, get some food and then leave again. (He doesn’t really know what he did come here for, but he’s pretty sure it wasn’t that.)

Luckily, Bambam is saved from trying to formulate a response, because LE arrives at their table with an apron wrapped tightly around her waist and an uncharacteristically pleasant smile plastered on her face.

LE continues to stare at her notebook, getting ready to take down her customers’ orders as she recites her lines automatically. “Hi, my name is LE and I will be your server today. What can I get for you?” She looks at the people she’s serving and blinks a couple of times in surprise. “Oh, hi Jungkook. What are you doing here?”

Jungkook contemplates lying, because discussing his dating life with LE would make things far too awkward – but then he thinks about how she might mention his café visit to the T-Birds later. Perhaps it’s some kind of sick pleasure, but the thought of Taehyung’s face filled with jealousy when LE breaks him the news gives Jungkook a feeling of satisfaction. Maybe seeing Jungkook with other people will allow Taehyung to realise what he’s missing.

“I’m on a date,” Jungkook answers eventually.

“Oh that’s cool,” LE replies, mercifully not mentioning how long it took Jungkook to respond. “Well, hope you guys have fun. Have you decided what food you want yet?”

“I think Bambam wants the burger,” Jungkook says, looking over at his date for confirmation. Bambam nods eagerly, seeming happy that Jungkook was paying attention to his rambling, and Jungkook hopes that it’s enough to smooth over the awkwardness of a few moments before.

“And I think Jungkook wants…” Bambam starts enthusiastically, but he then trails off. “Actually, I have no idea. You go,” he gestures to Jungkook.

Jungkook laughs despite himself. “I’ve been told the burger’s off limits, so I guess I’ll have the chicken and cheese panini.”

“Got it,” LE smiles as she writes down their orders. “Oh, shoot, any drinks? I forgot to ask.”

“You’re so professional,” Jungkook grins. “Uh, I could do with a milkshake actually. Do you do vanilla?”

“Sure thing,” LE nods. “Anything for you?” she asks, turning to Bambam.

“Just a Coke, please,” he smiles, handing LE the menu. “Okay,” he says to Jungkook once LE disappears to the kitchen. “Why don’t we talk about school? That’s a safe topic, right? Not too personal?” Bambam looks at him anxiously and Jungkook feels kind of bad that he’s so adamant in his refusal to tell Bambam anything about himself.

Jungkook takes a deep breath. He promised himself that he would make an effort tonight. _Come on, Jungkook. You’ve got this._

“Yeah, that’s fine,” he tells Bambam. He tries to smile at him, but it may come out more like a grimace. Jungkook isn’t sure why he feels quite so uncomfortable, but he has a feeling it’s because of somebody he refuses to think about.

Everything seemed so easy with Taehyung.

But maybe Jungkook just has to try harder.

“So what year are you in?” Bambam asks.

“Oh. Year 12,” he says. “Technically I should’ve been in the year below, but. I’m on the borderline. And I’m smart, so they put me up.” He blushes. “You?”

“Same as you. Well, except for the smart thing,” Bambam grins. “I was born in May, so I guess I’m a few months older than you.”

“Ah, cool,” Jungkook says. He doesn’t have much to add.

“So what’s your favourite subject?” Bambam smiles, seeming not to mind that Jungkook isn’t participating too actively in the conversation.

“Probably Music,” he states, deciding not to elaborate. “You?”

“Definitely Dance,” he says. “It’d be cool to be a dancer one day, and I’m part of a dance group as well as taking it at school. We do performances and stuff, nothing big, but it’s great practice getting yourself out there, you know? I guess you feel the same about music. So dancing is, like, my _thing_ , but I don’t know. It’s probably not a stable career.”

Jungkook nods along as Bambam continues talking at him. Bambam tells him more about dancing; about his friends at school; about the other subjects he’s studying, and at some point Jungkook stops paying attention. He feels a little bit guilty for it, but he can’t help himself from spacing out. Bambam is nice enough, really. But he’s not Taehyung.

Bambam coughs loudly and Jungkook jumps in his seat. He looks up at his date and feels colour rising to his cheeks as Bambam looks at him expectantly. “Sorry, uh, what was that?” Jungkook mutters embarrassedly.

Bambam sighs. “This isn’t really working, is it?”

Jungkook looks down at the table, feeling awful at being so rude to such a friendly person. “I just… I’m honestly not sure what I’m doing here,” Jungkook admits. “I wouldn’t usually say yes to somebody asking me out like that, but my friend convinced me I needed to try seeing other people...” He trails off uncertainly. He pauses, thinking about what to tell this near-stranger, but he figures that honestly is the best policy. “The problem is, I already like someone else. I’m sorry for leading you on,” he says apologetically.

Bambam shrugs. “Nah, don’t worry about it,” he says easily, seemingly unfazed. “Thanks for being honest with me though. And, just for the record, I think we’d work better off as friends anyway. Don’t take this the wrong way but I think our personalities wouldn’t fit relationship-wise,” he says casually.

“Yeah, I agree,” Jungkook replies gratefully. Bambam somehow manages not to make the conversation awkward and Jungkook appreciates that.

Their food arrives at the table, courtesy of LE, who once again wishes them well on their date, and Jungkook looks at his food unsurely. He doesn’t want to sit here and wait for the awkward tension to build up, but he’s also pretty hungry.

Bambam, seeming to notice Jungkook’s dilemma, taps Jungkook on the arm to get his attention. Jungkook flinches and Bambam withdraws his hand. “Look, can we start over?” Bambam asks. “It would be cool to get to know you a bit better. Why don’t you tell me about this crush of yours?”

“Oh – um, yeah, okay,” Jungkook answers. This is something he can actually hold a conversation about. He’s not so good at small talk. Jungkook straightens in his seat in preparation. “Um. Well, there’s not much to tell. He’s...” Jungkook frowns. Actually, this _isn’t_ something he can hold a conversation about. How can he describe the situation without giving too much away? Even if Bambam goes to a different school there’s still the possibility that he could know Taehyung. “Uh, it wouldn’t work between us,” he settles for.

“Why not?” Bambam asks curiously. “Is he straight?”

Jungkook almost rolls his eyes; why does everybody seem to assume that? He’s about to tell him ‘no’ when it occurs to him that he can’t give Bambam the actual reason. It’s too risky, not to mention far too personal to be sharing with a near-stranger. “Yeah,” he agrees after a moment’s hesitation, latching onto the easy explanation.

“That sucks,” Bambam grimaces in sympathy. “I understand the struggle. Well maybe your friend is right about seeing some other people, trying to get your mind off him.”

Jungkook laughs. “It’s worked out well so far, hasn’t it?” he says sarcastically. Somehow he already feels much more comfortable in Bambam’s company, just knowing that he’s not expected to flirt, or be enticing, or try to look attractive while eating a panini. (Why did he think that ordering a cheesy panini would be a good idea? Was he even trying to make a good impression _at all_?)

“You’re not going to find the love of your life the first time you go out looking,” Bambam laughs. “It takes time. Trial and error.”

Jungkook ignores the part of him that believes he _did_ find the love of his life on his first try. He silently reminds himself that he gets invested in people too easily and he tries to shove the thought of love at first sight out of his mind; he overshadows it with logic, rationality and experience which tell him that Taehyung doesn’t care enough.

“You’re probably right,” Jungkook acquiesces.

“So who is it?” Bambam asks.

“I’m not sure you know him,” Jungkook responds vaguely, feeling a little pressured by the situation.

“I might do if he goes to your school. Doesn’t matter anyway,” Bambam shrugs. “Just making conversation. What’s his name?”

“Um,” Jungkook hesitates. But he can’t think of another name when put on the spot like this, and although he’s searching he can’t really find a reason to lie. “His name’s V,” he admits after a pause.

“Ah,” Bambam nods in sudden understanding. Jungkook is immediately worried. “Yeah, you should definitely try seeing other people.”

“What’s that -” Jungkook cuts himself off from finishing the sentence ‘what’s that supposed to mean?’, figuring that it may come off as a little too defensive. “Do you know him then?” he carefully asks instead.

Bambam shrugs. “I wouldn’t say we’re on speaking terms, but sure I know who he is. I know a couple of his exes as well, although what else is new. People talk, you know?”

“Tell me about him then,” Jungkook instructs, because he can’t help but feel curious as to why everyone thinks falling for V is such a bad idea.

“Look, bear in mind I’ve never really spoken to him and a lot of what I know is hearsay,” Bambam begins cautiously. “But he’s very rude.” He pauses, thinking about how best to describe V’s character. “Inconsiderate. Insensitive. Just not very... nice.” Bambam frowns, trying to recall more information while Jungkook listens attentively. “Relationship-wise he can’t keep himself interested for more than a month at a time, from what I’ve heard - although personally I’m not bothered what his relationship habits are. It’s more about what it all says about him as a person.”

“Wow, you really don’t like him,” Jungkook sighs. He struggles to consider the adjectives ‘rude’, ‘inconsiderate’, ‘insensitive’ and ‘uninterested’ in the context of Taehyung – someone always so lively and bubbly and friendly. The most trivial information about Jungkook always seemed so interesting to Taehyung and, if he’s honest, Jungkook has never felt more important than when Taehyung talked to him. Jungkook could be talking about anything from an art project to a Tumblr post to a packet of crisps and Taehyung would still listen to him with undivided attention and gaze at him like he shone brighter than the sun.

But then again, having had plenty of experience of Taehyung’s alter ego at school, Jungkook can understand why somebody may choose to describe him in such a way.

“I don’t really know him,” Bambam admits. “But the stuff I’ve heard about him doesn’t make me _want_ to know him, you get me?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Jungkook mumbles.

“How did you meet him, anyway?” Bambam questions.

“Mutual friends,” Jungkook responds, the lie natural to him by now. “I first laid eyes on him in the summer holidays but I never really spoke to him until school started.”

“Mutual friends, huh?” Bambam frowns. “What friends does he have apart from all those kids trying to act cool in leather jackets?”

Jungkook smiles apologetically. “Yeah, that’s them.”

“Oh.” Bambam’s jaw drops. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you -”

“It’s okay,” Jungkook laughs. “I agree about the jacket thing, by the way. But it’s nice that they’re trying to include me. Besides, they’re not bad people. Maybe some take a bit more getting used to than others,” he considers, thinking of Suga and Rosé, “but they’re alright.”

“So are you and V friends then?” Bambam asks.

Jungkook remembers the agreement they made at the bowling alley, deciding to be just friends after everything that happened. He tries not to show his longing as he recalls the feeling of Taehyung’s hand in his. “Yeah, we’re friends.”

Bambam looks mortified - and maybe a little scared, too. “Don’t tell him I slagged him off,” he pleads.

“Why would I do that?” Jungkook laughs. “We’re friends too, right?”

Bambam grins at that. “Right. Okay, what’s next on the conversation agenda?” He looks at Jungkook expectantly, clearly still worried about offending him after Jungkook shut down all his attempts at conversation in the beginning of the date.

Jungkook smiles. “Let me explain why our family moved back here.” He almost laughs at Bambam’s pleasantly surprised expression. “And then we can discuss how we knew we were gay,” he smirks.

Bambam chortles at that. “Okay, go for it. I have a feeling this will be a fun date after all.”

“Me too,” Jungkook chuckles. And so he launches into explanations of awful homophobic people who made Jungkook forget his level of self-worth, and Bambam sympathises with everything. They share stupid coming out stories and laugh about silly assumptions people make about gay people, and Jungkook finds that he’s actually having a really nice time. He may not have got what he came out for (no pun intended), but he feels like he may have found a good friend in Bambam. ~~~~

***

 

“I’m so bored,” Hani complains as she sits on J-Hope’s garage floor and watches the others work on the truck.

“Maybe you’d be less bored if you actually helped out,” Suga comments nonchalantly as he and V struggle to put the new engine into the engine bay.

“It’s Friday night, why are we here?” she continues, ignoring Suga’s response.

“Do you have somewhere better to be?” J-Hope laughs, poking her cheek as he plops down beside her.

“Nope. I’m stuck with you lot,” she moans.

“It’s good that you appreciate our friendship,” Suga mutters.

J-Hope flicks Hani with some of the coolant they’re sitting beside. She groans and wipes at her cheek furiously. “Are you guys almost done?” J-Hope asks the others as he puts his arm around Hani; his way of keeping the peace. She sighs laboriously but leans into the gesture all the same.

“Yep, think we’ve just about finished,” V answers. He looks at Suga for confirmation, who nods. V settles down on the floor next to J-Hope, too tired to worry about how it will make his skinny jeans dirty. “You know, Hani has a point. We’ve been here for a while and I could use a break,” V admits.

Hani grins at him. “You always have my back!”

V laughs. “You know it.”

“Yeah, I guess you guys are right,” J-Hope agrees. “We’ve sorted out the engine now, so at least we’ve got something done. What do you say we clear up and then head down to the café to annoy LE?” He grins cheekily and the others nod their heads eagerly: annoying LE when she’s on shift is one of their favourite pastimes, after all.

Soon enough the T-Birds are sat in the café and ready to bother their friend. LE glares at them when she sees them and continues to glare as she walks over. She doesn’t even bother with reciting her carefully-practised generic introduction, instead greeting her friends with, “Why do you guys always have the tendency to turn up when you’re not wanted?”

Hani grins. “Is it a crime to want to see my best friend?”

LE scowls. “Yes. And thank God, because now I can lock you away with my sister and never see the two of you again.”

“But you have to see us. We sat in one of your designated serving areas; I made sure of it,” Hani pouts.

“Oh my God, I knew it was a mistake telling you about that,” LE sighs. “Okay. What do you guys want?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” V says with a cheeky grin. LE is immediately suspicious. “Would you mind reading all the options out?” he continues and LE grabs his menu and hits him on the head with it.

“Stop being annoying. If you guys aren’t ready, I have better things to do.” She sets the menu back down on the table and makes to walk away. She’s about to head over to Jungkook’s table because she can see him looking their way, but Hani grabs her wrist.

“Hey, you have to give us priority!” Hani protests as she looks at LE with deceptively wide and innocent eyes. “We’re your friends! We get special treatment.”

LE rolls her eyes, reluctantly turning back to face the T-Birds. “Well Jungkook is my friend too, and I’m serving his table,” she says shortly.

“Jungkook’s here?” V asks before he can stop himself.

“Yeah, he’s on a date,” LE responds. “And by the looks of it, he’s trying to get my attention, so I’d better head over. Amuse yourselves with the menu, guys,” she chuckles before leaving.

Once LE stops blocking Jungkook from V’s eyeline, V sees that Jungkook appears to be looking straight at him. As soon as V’s eyes lock with Jungkook’s, Jungkook turns away in his seat and back to whoever he’s on a date with. V cranes his head to try and see the other boy, but he can’t get a clear view.

Suga frowns at him. “You know when LE said to amuse ourselves with the menu, she meant the one on _our_ table, right?” he deadpans.

V opens the menu in front of him and positively glowers at it. “I was just wondering who he was with,” he sulks. He can’t be bothered to pretend he was doing anything else.

“Why does it matter?” Hani shrugs. “I’m happy for him. I hope whoever it is treats him well though. Our little Kook deserves the best!” She opens her menu excitedly and V sighs to himself, because Hani’s right. Jungkook does deserve the best, and if the best isn’t V then he supposes he’ll just have to deal with it.

Rationally he knows that Jungkook could do a lot better than V, but it doesn’t stop him from feeling extremely jealous.

V focuses his attention on his friends instead, trying to distract himself, but he can’t help but notice when Jungkook stands up from his seat and heads over to the serving counter. He appears to be having trouble choosing between the different sauces, so V swoops in and takes his chance while he can. “I’ll go get us some ketchup,” he announces before standing up and making his way over to the counter.

“But we haven’t even ordered any food yet…” J-Hope says to V’s empty seat.

“What’s up with him?” Hani asks scornfully.

“God knows,” Suga rolls his eyes. “He’s been weird recently. Maybe the stress of school is finally getting to him.”

Hani snorts. “Doubt it. I can’t really see him caring that much about anything.”

“He must care about _something_ ,” J-Hope argues. “Maybe he’s having girl troubles,” he says contemplatively.

“You know, I haven’t seen him hanging out with many girls lately,” Hani considers. “Do you think he’s losing his touch?”

“I don’t know, but if he’s stressed out from exams and he doesn’t have any chicks there to _relieve_ the stress, no wonder he’s so jerky all the time,” Suga smirks.

 J-Hope screws up his face in disgust. “You just had to use the word ‘jerky’, didn’t you?”

Suga simply laughs at him.

Meanwhile V sidles up to Jungkook, pretending to be interested in the condiments. “Hey,” he says really casually. Jungkook looks at him with raised eyebrows and V determinedly carries on. “So. You on a date with that guy or something?”

“What makes you say that?” Jungkook says, turning back to the sauces. “Where the hell is the ketchup…” he mutters to himself.

“You mean this?” V asks, holding up the entire basket of ketchup sachets. Now Jungkook will have to talk to him. (He doesn’t care if it’s petty, as long as it works.) “And LE may have mentioned it,” he adds slyly.

Jungkook glares at him. “Well, not that it’s any of your business, but yes I am on a date,” he replies snootily.

“He’s not good enough for you,” V states without preamble.

Jungkook frowns. “Do you even know who he is?”

V peers over at Jungkook’s table and is surprised to find that he actually _does_ know who he is. “He’s definitely not good enough for you,” V repeats more insistently, hating that he has to lie. He may have never had a proper conversation with Bambam, but he can’t find any faults with the boy off the top of his head. Bambam has always seemed friendly and honest and good-natured – basically the opposite of V.

“You don’t even know his name,” Jungkook says sceptically.

“Bambam,” V answers.

Jungkook looks slightly shocked. “Okay. So you do know his name. But – hey! I bet you don’t know his real name.” Jungkook smiles proudly.

“You mean the Thai one?” V asks. He pauses in consideration before giving up. “I remember hearing it but I don’t remember how to pronounce it.”

“Ha!” Jungkook cheers triumphantly. He’s grinning now and V wishes that he could see Jungkook smile like that all the time. _He_ should be the one sitting across from Jungkook in this café, not this Bambam guy who probably has nothing in common with Jungkook anyway.

“Please,” V scoffs. “I bet you can’t pronounce it either.”

Jungkook opens his mouth to retort, then closes it again, seeming to think better of attempting the Thai language.

V looks at him, amused. “I can see why Suga called you ‘Goldy’ now. Anyway, I’m serious,” he says, nodding his head in Bambam’s direction. “You can do better. That guy’s a total jerk and you shouldn’t be hanging around him.”

Jungkook stares at V for a second, before deciding to hit back with the ultra cool and trendy “Talking ‘bout yourself again.”

V actually snorts. “Oh my God, did you seriously just say that?” he snickers. “That’s so 2010, Jungkookie.”

“Don’t act like it wasn’t a good comeback,” Jungkook grins.

“I don’t have to act,” V rolls his eyes.

“Whatever. Can I please have my ketchup now?” Jungkook gestures pointedly to the ketchup basket clutched in V’s arms.

“Oh – sure,” V says, thrusting the basket into Jungkook’s hands. He forgot he was holding it. (Jungkook makes him forget about a lot of things. Namely how to breathe and how to function like a regular human being.)

“Thanks,” Jungkook chuckles. He heads back to his table – back to Bambam – and V stares after him for a second before collecting himself and heading back to the T-Birds.

J-Hope notes V’s empty hands and frowns. “Where’s the ketchup?”

“Oh.” V also looks down at his empty hands and feels the urge to slap himself. Because seriously? He goes all the way over to the counter to get ketchup, stands there talking to someone he supposedly doesn’t know all that well, for a little too long to seem normal by the way, and then comes back to the table with no Ketchup? Brilliant.

“Jungkook has it,” V explains, because it’s true. He wonders whether Jungkook has noticed yet that he’s carried over the entire basket of ketchup sachets to his table. V surreptitiously peeks over at Jungkook’s table and he thinks he can see Bambam laughing.

V isn’t paying enough attention to his friends to notice J-Hope shrugging and saying, “That’s okay. We ordered ice cream anyway.”

 

***

 

When Jungkook gets back from his date, he is immediately ambushed by Junghwa. “How was your date?” she asks excitedly as Jungkook walks in through the door.

“Were you just stood there waiting for me to get home?” Jungkook asks, mildly concerned. He takes off his jacket and hangs it over the chair as Junghwa trails him impatiently.

“Don’t change the subject,” she instructs. “How was it?”

“Great,” Jungkook answers, surprised to find how much he actually enjoyed hanging out with Bambam. “We decided to stay friends.”

“That doesn’t sound like it went all that great to me,” Junghwa frowns. “You decided to ‘stay friends’? This was supposed to be a date, not a break-up, you Hwook.”

“You can’t use a childhood nickname as an insult,” Jungkook responds, highly offended.

“I didn’t want to call you anything mean,” Junghwa defends herself. “Anyway, what happened? Did you guys just not hit it off, or what?”

“We both felt that we wanted to hang out as friends rather than boyfriends, or whatever,” Jungkook shrugs. He sits down at the kitchen table and Junghwa joins him. “What’s the big deal? I’m not sure I’m ready for someone else anyway.”

“You’re not even trying,” Junghwa states, exasperated.

“Why do I have to?” Jungkook asks quietly. “If it made me realise anything, it’s that I’m not over V yet. Isn’t it better that I make some new friends in the meantime, spend some time with other people and learn to be okay being by myself, instead of having to be in a relationship all the time?”

Junghwa glowers at him. “How dare you sound more mature than me.”

Jungkook grins. “You know it makes sense. I’m not going to force it. Besides, V’s been really cool lately, even when we’re around everyone else. He even turned up at the café and we talked a bit. It was nice.” Jungkook tries not to overthink it too much; tries not to think about how it’s much easier to be friendly in front of everyone when ‘friends’ is all they are.

“Okay,” Junghwa acquiesces. “Well I guess if it helped you realise that then it wasn’t completely useless.”

“Exactly,” Jungkook nods. “I think I just need some time to get over him.” He sighs. “It’s not going to be easy though.”

“Aw, bless your romantic little heart,” Junghwa coos, albeit slightly patronisingly. “So will I get to meet this infamous crush of yours at any point?” she asks, her eyes alight with anticipation.

“Probably not.” Jungkook fidgets under the intensity of her gaze. “Especially given how you talked about him before, I’d be worried that you’d go and punch him in the face or something.”

“Someone’s got to protect you, Jungkook,” she reminds him pointedly.

Jungkook snorts. “I’m not seven anymore.”

“You think I would’ve _punched_ your seven-year-old bullies?” she asks incredulously.

“You _did_ ,” Jungkook points out.

“Oh, yeah,” Junghwa says, her defensive mood deflating by the second, because yes, that’s an actual thing that happened. Way back in the day, their families went out together to the local park and Jungkook wanted to play on the monkey bars in the playground, but the other kids wouldn’t let him have a go. So, naturally – Junghwa to the rescue.

Needless to say, their parents were astonished when they looked over to check that their children were okay and instead found three kids crying on the floor, while Jungkook obliviously played on the monkey bars and Junghwa cheered him on. They called it a day after that, and Junghwa was grounded for two whole weeks, but to this day she still maintains that it was worth it.

“To be honest, I could’ve probably done with Junghwa the Saviour beating up my bullies last year,” Jungkook jokes. He wishes immediately that he didn’t say anything, because Junghwa looks at him sadly and Jungkook feels like the hurt behind his sentence isn’t so well concealed after all.

“Talking of, how are you holding up?” she asks him gently. “Are you in a better place now?”

“I guess,” Jungkook nods. “It kind of took its toll on me… But everyone here has been completely accepting so far. It makes me wonder whether I was just really unlucky before.”

Junghwa frowns in consideration. “I think people are also more open-minded and mature in Sixth Form,” she contemplates. “But whatever the reason, I’m glad that you’ve found a better group of friends.” She sighs. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“You had other things on your mind,” Jungkook smiles gently. “I wasn’t exactly there for you either when you were going through all the stress of A2s and uni applications.”

Junghwa laughs. “That’s totally not the same, but sure, whatever. I’m just glad that you’re doing okay, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees, finding that he means it. “Me too.”

 

***

 

A few days later, Jungkook watches regretfully as Junghwa lifts her suitcase into the boot of Mr Jeon’s car. Jungkook’s father is driving her down to the station, where she’ll catch a train back to university.

“Do you really have to leave so soon?” Jungkook asks, not caring that he sounds incredibly whiny.

“My lectures start tomorrow,” Junghwa says apologetically. She steps closer to him and directs him with a stern look. “But we’re Skyping next week, right? Don’t skip out on me!” she warns.

“I would never,” Jungkook smiles. He pulls her in for a hug and she squeezes him tight before letting go.

“I’ll talk to you soon. And we’ll have to get together for something at Christmas!” Junghwa grins.

“Okay,” Jungkook replies easily. “Safe trip, Hwook.”

“Love you!” she calls as she hops into the passenger seat of the car. Jungkook waves as the car pulls out of the driveway and sets off down the road. Hardly two seconds later, his phone buzzes in his pocket and Jungkook takes it out to read the notification.

**Miss you already! xxx**

Jungkook grins and shakes his head at the ridiculousness of it all.

**Miss you too, Hwook. See you soon.**

He heads back inside with an easy smile on his face.


	9. there are worse things I could do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween at Jisoo's! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to give a lil s/o to my beta for being the best-a and helping me out in particular with this chapter, especially the costume ideas! this one was kinda tricky to write but I guess it’s like tying up some loose ends in the storyline before we move on so yeah I hope you enjoy :)))

At 6:45pm on Friday evening, Jungkook rings on the doorbell and Jisoo answers the door near immediately. “Hi!” she greets excitedly, ushering him inside.

“Hi,” Jungkook smiles. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Jisoo dismisses with a bright smile. “It doesn’t start till 7 anyway. I just told you half 6 so that you could get settled before people started arriving. Come on, take your coat off and come through to the hallway - it’s only the Pink Ladies here at the moment. They’ve been helping me set up.”

Hearing the commotion, Jin appears in the kitchen doorway holding a plate of cookies. He puts the cookies down on the side table and Jungkook gets a glimpse of his silk clothes. He thinks he can also see a couple of dark lines across Jin’s face, as if it’s cracking in half.

“Actually, only Jimin and I have been helping set up. Rosé has been getting changed and getting in the way,” Jin says curtly.

As if on cue, Rosé materialises at the top of the stairs, already in costume. She’s sporting a white t-shirt, a bright pink and blue jacket and a pair of matching pink and blue hot pants. “How do I look?” she grins.

“You’re Harley Quinn,” Jungkook says dumbly.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she responds with a roll of her eyes. “But seriously. The outfit looks alright?” She spins around on the spot to show off the complete look.

“If you have a problem with your outfit, you should’ve bought your own,” Jisoo snaps.

Rosé ignores Jisoo’s comment and struts down the stairs sassily, Jin shooting her a cheesy grin and a big thumbs up.

Rosé nods hello to Jungkook, reluctantly but politely enough. “At least you can tell who it is,” she acknowledges. “I haven’t sorted out the hair yet, but it’s just pigtails and hair chalk. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Jungkook has a feeling she’s trying to convince herself more than anybody else.

“That it will,” Jin tells her consolingly.

Rosé turns to Jisoo, a hint of nerves creeping out from under the surface. “The makeup’s okay?”

“Of course it is!” Jimin says happily, seeming to appear from nowhere and following down the stairs after Rosé. “ _I_ did it. I did Jin’s too, doesn’t it look great?”

“Jimin!” Jisoo admonishes exasperatedly. “I can’t believe you’ve been doing everyone’s makeup - I told you to put out the drinks! For goodness’ sake, I’m stressed enough as it is…”

“Don’t worry, I did that first,” Jimin smiles.

“Being a hostess is hard, you know,” Jisoo whines pitifully.

“I know,” Jimin acknowledges, stepping closer to her and putting an arm round her shoulders. “You’re doing a great job. Oh, hi Jungkook!” he says, only just noticing the extra person in the hallway. “I’m guessing that was you at the doorbell, then. Thank God, because I’m nowhere _near_ ready yet. So you went with the Grim Reaper in the end?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says. He looks down at his outfit: a baggy, tattered black cloak with a hood that he hasn’t pulled up yet. Given Jisoo’s encouragement, Jungkook’s eyelids are covered in black eyeshadow and a touch of eyeliner, to emphasise the dark theme of his character. Jungkook rang Jisoo a couple days ago, worried about going too overboard, but she assured him that anybody who didn’t make enough effort with their costume wouldn’t be let into the party. Jungkook has a feeling Jisoo will stay true to her word. Coming out of his thoughts, he looks at Jimin and frowns. “What are you?”

Jimin laughs. “I haven’t got changed yet. I’d better go up now, actually – people will be arriving soon. Be prepared for a cuteness overload!” he squeaks as he runs up the stairs.

“It can’t be as bad as last year,” Rosé smirks, which makes Jin laugh. She turns to Jungkook, her eyes lit up in amusement. “Seriously. Last year I was hosting and he turned up dressed as an angel. I mean, call me traditional, but Halloween is meant to be about celebrating _dark spirits_. An angel is pretty much as far from that as you can get.”

Jungkook grins. That definitely sounds like something Jimin would do.

It also doesn’t escape Jungkook’s notice that Rosé is treating him like a regular human being. Perhaps the holiday vibes are getting to her.

“I bet that one of the reasons he said he would change here is so that I can’t turn him away, no matter how un-Halloweeny his outfit is,” Jisoo says contemplatively.

Jin rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “Probably.”

“So what are you?” Jungkook asks Jin.

“I’m a broken china doll,” Jin replies happily.

“Obviously,” Rosé says sarcastically.

“And I’m guessing you’re Catwoman?” Jungkook asks Jisoo, noting her tight black bodysuit and dark eye makeup.

“Yep, that’s me,” Jisoo says with a laborious sigh.

Jungkook frowns. “What’s wrong?” he asks, confused.

“She’s just annoyed about the costume switch,” Jin explains.

“What costume switch?” Jungkook says.

“I’m going to go finish up at the food table!” Jin announces hurriedly as Jisoo opens her mouth to launch into an explanation. “I cannot listen to this again,” he mutters conspiratorially to Jungkook as he leaves.

“Well,” Jisoo begins loudly, and Jungkook has a feeling that it will be a long story. “Rosé and I were _supposed_ to be dressing up as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, but _someone_ decided we had to switch after she found out J-Hope was going as the Joker.”

Jungkook stifles a laugh and Rosé glares at Jisoo. “You can’t go as J-Hope’s girlfriend when I like him. It only makes sense.”

“Anyway,” Jisoo sighs as she redirects her attention at Jungkook, “I obviously couldn’t go as Poison Ivy.”

“Why not?” Jungkook questions.

“The hair!” she complains. “I don’t have the _hair_.”

“Jimin would’ve offered to dye it for you,” Rosé shrugs.

“ _Exactly_ ,” Jisoo exclaims exasperatedly. “But here’s the thing, Jungkook. We decided we would go as characters who are best friends, because Rosé and I are best friends. We had it all figured out!” she whines. “So I looked it up and it seems like Catwoman hung out with Harley Quinn a lot as well. This was the best I could do at short notice.”

“It doesn’t look like it was at short notice,” Jungkook says honestly. “It looks really pulled together.”

“Thanks!” Jisoo grins, her mood lifting instantly. “Anyway, it’s probably just as well I didn’t go as Harley Quinn. It’s hard enough to convince this one I’m straight,” she says, gesturing to Rosé, “without dressing up as a bisexual character.”

Rosé raises her eyebrows at her. “In some revised comic book editions, Catwoman is also bisexual,” she points out shrewdly.

“Have you been studying this or something?” Jisoo says, naturally outraged. “Whatever. I’m gonna check up on some last minute arrangements. Do you guys know if the music’s set up yet?” she asks as she heads towards the living room, where she’s set up all the decorations, the food, the drink and, hopefully, the music.

Jungkook shrugs helplessly. “I just got here.”

“I’ve been getting changed,” Rosé answers, seemingly unbothered by the fact that Jisoo’s stress levels are peaking. “Hey, is all the food for later or can I pinch some now? I’m hungry.”

“No!” she scolds. “Save it for the guests.” She leaves Rosé and Jungkook alone in the hallway, thankfully discovering that the speakers are in working order and that all she has to do to play the music is click on the playlist of party songs that she pre-prepared.

“So…” Jungkook starts awkwardly, although he really isn’t sure where to go from there.

Rosé laughs. “Save it. We both know we don’t have anything to say to each other. Why don’t you go into the kitchen and help Jin with the food? I’d better check Jisoo isn’t having a fit.” She follows Jisoo into the living room without waiting for a reply. And sure, she could be nicer, but when Jungkook thinks about it, he supposes she has a unique way of showing her friends that she cares.

Jungkook takes her advice and joins Jin in the kitchen, who is currently busy pulling some trays out of the oven. “Do you think this is enough food?” Jin asks anxiously.

Jungkook laughs. “Depends how many people are coming. Is the whole country invited?”

“It’s quite a big gathering,” Jin says defensively. “There’s at least 50 people coming, from what Jisoo’s told me. It could be more like 75 when the people who never responded to the invite turn up; maybe even more if some of the guests bring plus ones.”

“Wait – really?” Jungkook asks weakly, his confidence dissipating instantly. “That many?”

Jin looks at him sympathetically. “Did she not mention it?”

“She probably didn’t think it was important,” Jungkook shrugs, trying to look a lot braver than he feels. _Wow._ That’s a lot of new people. “It’s a party. I don’t know what I expected.” He chuckles self-consciously.

“If it gets too overwhelming at any point, just come find me,” Jin says kindly. “Or you can text me and I’ll find you. Either way works.”

“Thanks,” Jungkook smiles queasily. He’s too nervous to pretend that he isn’t.

“No problem,” Jin smiles back. “Now, taste this chicken. Is it good?”

Jungkook does as he’s told and tastes it – some sort of barbecue sauce covers the drumstick, but it’s a little spicy as well. “It’s good,” he confirms.

“I should hope so! It’s Jisoo’s favourite,” Jin grins.

“I thought Jisoo was a vegan?” Jungkook asks, confused, just as Jisoo and Rosé walk into the kitchen.

“Nah, I gave that up,” Jisoo answers nonchalantly. She takes the piece of chicken that Jin holds out to her and pops it into her mouth, humming in appreciation and shooting him an enthusiastic thumbs up when the flavour hits her tongue. “I realised I liked chicken too much,” she explains once she’s finished her mouthful.

“As if it wasn’t obvious just from that,” Jungkook mutters.

Rosé smirks at him. “She’s like this with everything,” she discloses. “She’ll pick up a new trend or go along with some new fad, stick at it half-heartedly for a couple of months and then drop it once she gets bored. You’ll get used to it.”

Jungkook does his best to smile in response, because Rosé is being nice to him for a change and he doesn’t want to ruin it, but she can tell that there’s something off about his response.

“Why do you look so uncomfortable?” Rosé probes. “I know that Jisoo’s a bit weird, but she’s not _that_ weird. She even invited you to her party. You should be grateful.”

“I am,” Jungkook insists. “It’s just – I didn’t know…” He trails off uncertainly and looks to Jin for help.

“Jungkook didn’t realise how many people would be coming,” Jin explains. “He’s feeling a little nervous, that’s all.”

Rosé frowns. “What reason is there to be nervous? They’re just people.”

“People I don’t know,” Jungkook points out. “It’s not a big deal, really. I’m just shy. But if I stick around you guys it’ll be fine.”

“Sorry Jungkook. It completely slipped my mind that this may have made you feel uncomfortable,” Jisoo says apologetically. She checks her phone for the time and then smiles at him consolingly. “It’s only 10 past 7 so we’ve got some time before people turn up. How about I show you some quieter rooms you can hide out in, just in case?”

Jungkook smiles gratefully. “That would be nice, thanks. But – wasn’t the party meant to start at 7?”

“Parties never start on time,” Jin chuckles. “I’d say people will turn up at 7:30, earliest.”

 “Even Suga’s not here yet, and he arrives everywhere early,” Jimin contributes, appearing once again from out of nowhere.

“ _What_ are you wearing?” Rosé asks in disgust.

Jimin pouts. “Do you really not know?” He spins around for them to see, showcasing a bright white puffy snowman outfit. He’s wearing white leggings and a brown long-sleeved top underneath his outfit, mainly because it’s the end of October and it’s freezing, but also because his arms need to look like branches.

“A snowman? You know it’s not a Christmas party, right?” Jisoo asks curiously.

Jimin rolls his eyes. “People dress up as film characters all the time for Halloween. Come on, you guys.”

“I don’t know who it is,” Rosé admits.

“It’s Olaf!” Jimin announces excitedly. “You know, from Frozen?”

“I’ve never seen it,” Rosé shrugs.

“You’ve never seen Frozen?” he demands, feeling personally insulted.

“Nope. The only Olaf I’ve heard of is the one from A Series of Unfortunate Events,” Rosé says unapologetically.

“Oh, that’s a good Olaf,” Jisoo agrees.

“Also a much more appropriate Olaf for Halloween,” Jin contributes.

“But – but _Frozen_ ,” Jimin insists.

“I never watched it, sorry,” Jisoo tells him.

“Me neither,” Jin admits.

“Jungkook?” Jimin asks desperately.

“Sorry,” Jungkook says apologetically.

“I can’t believe you lot,” he says grouchily. “Frozen is a _classic_. You’re all missing out.”

“I’ll watch it tomorrow,” Jisoo promises.

“You guys will feel so stupid when everybody knows who I am except you,” Jimin says haughtily.

“I’ll get over it,” Rosé responds nonchalantly, inspecting her cuticles and ignoring Jimin’s disappointment.

 

***

 

After Jisoo finishes showing Jungkook around her house, Jimin insists on touching up Jungkook’s makeup and adding some black lipstick. Despite Jungkook’s protestations, he has to admit it looks pretty cool.

There’s a ring at the doorbell and Jimin puts down Jungkook’s lipstick excitedly. “That’s probably Suga!” he says excitedly, ignoring Jungkook’s pointed smirk.

“Shall we go down and say hello?” Jungkook suggests.

“Of course!” Jimin exclaims. He then sees Jungkook’s smug expression and pouts. “Only so that we can prove you guys are the odd ones out and that the rest of the universe knows their pop culture.”

“Sure,” Jungkook laughs. They walk downstairs in time to see Jisoo answering the door and letting Suga, J-Hope and LE inside.

“You guys look great!” Jisoo squeals. As expected, J-Hope is dressed as the Joker. Suga is in all white, presumably a ghost, and LE is dressed as a witch.

“Your costumes all match your personalities,” Rosé pipes up, appearing in the hallway.

LE rolls her eyes and J-Hope raises his eyebrows at her. “Are you calling me a psychopath?”

Rosé blushes. (Jungkook does a double take because he doesn’t think he’s ever seen _that_ before.) “No, I was just saying you’re funny.”

“Hey, are you Harley Quinn?” J-Hope asks in realisation.

“Yeah. What are the chances?” she chuckles nervously. J-Hope grins at her and Rosé blushes again. “Hey, can I get you a drink or something? Maybe?”

“Yeah, sure,” J-Hope smiles.

“Great! The drinks table is through here…”

Jisoo whistles at them as they leave and Rosé turns around to glare at her before disappearing into the living room with J-Hope.

Jimin takes the brief moment of silence to twirl around demonstratively in front of Suga and LE. “You guys can tell who I am, right?” he grins.

 “Obviously,” LE replies and Jimin smiles smugly at Jisoo. “You’re a snowman,” she finishes and Jimin’s smile falters slightly.

“Yes, but which snowman?”

LE shrugs. “Beats me.”

Jimin frowns disappointedly. “Why does nobody know who it is?”

“You’re Olaf from Frozen, right?” Suga replies.

Jimin beams happily at him, his faith in humanity restored, and Suga beams back, because who couldn’t find it infectious when Jimin smiles like that?

“Yes! That’s exactly who I am! You’ve saved my pride,” he announces excitedly, throwing his arms around Suga in a hug. Suga freezes in shock, before bringing his arms around Jimin’s waist and hugging him back, his face turning pink in embarrassment.

Jisoo smirks at Suga. “Stop blushing or you’ll ruin your ghost aesthetic,” she says cheekily.

Suga removes one hand from Jimin’s back to flip her off and Jimin turns around in confusion, curious as to what Jisoo’s comment was about. “Ignore her,” Suga says quietly as he puts his hands on Jimin’s hips and pulls him closer, because he’s not ready to let go just yet.

Jungkook stares at them in disbelief as they continue to hug way after the moment has passed. How is it possible for both of them to be so oblivious?

He excuses himself from the hallway in the pretence of getting a drink, because he feels uncomfortable watching Jimin and Suga holding each other tightly, as if he’s intruding on something private.

However, this turns out to be a bad plan when he walks into the living room and sees J-Hope and Rosé making out on the sofa. He gapes at them, because they’ve only been gone a few minutes and things must have escalated pretty quickly for them to get this point, but Rosé can clearly feel Jungkook’s eyes on her because she breaks away from J-Hope to glare at him, annoyed.

“Can we help you?” she scowls.

Jungkook shakes his head mutely and runs away from the room.

“Jungkook, what’s up?” Jin asks when Jungkook appears in the kitchen.

“Just trying to get away from all the couples,” Jungkook explains feebly, sitting down on the kitchen floor. The doorbell rings again – this time with Jisoo letting in a group of 7 or so guests who Jungkook doesn’t recognise when he peaks his head around the kitchen door – and Jungkook decides that he may well make the kitchen floor his safe space for the evening.

 

***

 

V and Hani arrive about an hour and a half after the official start time, because apparently any level of lateness is ‘fashionably late’ when you’re Hani. He arrived at Hani’s house at 6:45pm, so that he could assure her she looked beautiful for half an hour and watch as she ran around getting things ready last minute, before leaving at 7:15. But, contrary to their plans, they didn’t start walking down to Jisoo’s until 10 past 8.

In fairness, he really should’ve known better than to put his trust in Hani’s concept of time. They’ve been friends for a while and not once has she ever been on time to anything.

V feels a rush of confidence flow through him as he and Hani walk into the house and push through the throngs of people to get to the living room. Music is blasting from the speakers and people are everywhere, dancing and mingling and kissing. V’s and Hani’s outfits are surprisingly coordinated, with the red of his fake blood matching the red of Hani’s devil horns, and he knows that he looks good. Having applied a bit more makeup than usual and having had a few pre-drinks while he waited for Hani to be ready, he feels fully prepared to make this party a good one.

He and Hani grab some beers from the drinks table and, upon seeing them, Suga stalks over. “Jesus, about time guys,” he mutters, his voice barely audible above the music. “I’ve been waiting for someone to talk to.”

V raises his eyebrows. “What’s wrong with all your other friends?”

“Shut up, you know I don’t talk to many people,” Suga grumbles. “The Pink Ladies have disappeared somewhere, LE’s too busy trying to get rid of all the sleazy guys hitting on her and J-Hope is off somewhere getting it on with Rosé.”

“Wait, J-Hope and Rosé? So that happened?” Hani asks in surprise. “Jeez, that was quick. I thought they’d dance around each other for a bit longer. You know, like you and Jimin.”

“Fuck off,” Suga scowls. “Me and Jimin aren’t a thing.”

“Yet,” Hani grins.

“Screw you. I’m going to find the Pink Ladies,” Suga spits as he pushes past them and out of the living room.

“Tell your boyfriend I said hi!” Hani calls after him.

V rolls his eyes. “That was a bit far, Hani.”

“Who cares? He’s drunk,” Hani responds nonchalantly as she takes a swig of her beer. “He won’t remember it tomorrow anyway.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s just you who’s drunk,” V giggles. “Suga will be mad at you tomorrow and you’ll have no idea why.”

“You’re drunk too!” Hani accuses.

“I’m _tipsy_ ,” V corrects. “There’s a difference. Anyway, I’m gonna mingle, see you later?”

“Sure thing!” Hani says happily. They separate from one another and begin to scour the party for people to flirt with.

 

***

 

“I’ve heard about you,” the girl says to V, her voice silky and smooth. “You’re cuter than I thought you would be.”

“Oh yeah?” V smirks. “And what’s your name?”

“Yoohyeon. Although I doubt you’ll remember that later,” she says with a raise of her eyebrows. She knows about his reputation and she’s not holding out for anything more than a quick hook-up.

“Maybe you should try and make me remember,” V says lowly, leaning closer to her and moving his free hand to her waist, his fingers grazing the top of her skirt. She’s dressed as a nurse, with a tight blouse and a pencil skirt hugging her figure. V slips his hand underneath the girl’s clothing to lightly touch the bare skin of her back, a can of beer – his fourth, if he remembers correctly – still clutched in his other hand.

“Maybe I should,” she whispers, before pressing her lips against his. V responds immediately and the girl moves her lips frantically, eagerly, urgently. It’s the perfect picture of a meaningless party make-out session; something that V is well-acquainted with. He kisses her back just as hungrily, because kissing is kissing and he needs to let off some steam. But something about it just doesn’t feel right.

Of course, kissing girls has never felt right to him, but it has never felt so wrong either. V supposes it’s because now he has a point of reference – kissing Jungkook felt _good_ ; meant to be, even, if he lets his soppy romantic heart take over his thoughts. All the girls he’s kissed tonight made him feel unsatisfied and he can’t shake the feeling that something’s changed, ever since he found out how kissing someone is _supposed_ to feel.

He roughly pulls the girl closer towards him, hoping that the proximity will help dispel the feeling of emptiness building inside him. As he pushes his tongue into the girl’s mouth, he wonders whether anybody will ever compare to Jungkook.

Definitely not any girls, but he has a feeling no boys will, either.

He pushes those thoughts out of his mind and instead focuses only on the sensation of lips on lips and tongue on tongue and skin on skin - but his snogging buddy seems to have other ideas.

The girl – what’s her name again? – pulls away from him but keeps her body close. “So, is there a reason you chose to be a vampire?” she asks.

“Hm?” V asks, disgruntled at having to talk to her. “Uh, no, not really.” He then frowns at himself, because that’s a pretty useless answer. He decides to elaborate, thinking of a random explanation on the spot. “Vampires are pretty cool, I guess? They can bite anyone and change them. They hold power over people. They’re strong enough to save your neck, but they can also bite it, you know?” Okay, now he sounds a bit creepy. Maybe that was a little too far.

But the girl doesn’t seem to mind. She leans towards his ear and lowers her voice to a husky whisper, which she probably imagines to be sultry and seductive. “You can bite _my_ neck anytime,” she tells him lowly, running her free hand slowly across V’s chest. “You can bite me and suck on my blood... and I can suck _you_ in return.” She inches her hand lower.

V flinches, wondering how he can get out of this. It’s not as if he hasn’t encouraged her - and usually V would agree; maybe make a crappy innuendo of his own, but something about tonight feels different. He tries to ignore it, but he knows the reason is because Jungkook is somewhere in the house, a mere few walls away from V and his latest snogging partner. “Maybe later,” he tells her instead, pushing her hands away from his body gently and excusing himself to go get another drink - something much stronger than beer. He has a feeling he’s going to need it.

He pours a little bit of liquid from a few different bottles into a plastic cup, neglecting to pay any attention as to whether it will taste good but instead making sure that the only liquids that go in have a high alcohol content. If he thinks about it, there may be some rum in there, definitely vodka, perhaps a bit of whiskey of some kind and a few other things too, but a voice interrupts his thoughts.

“Are you having fun?” Jungkook smirks from right beside him. V looks up at Jungkook in shock, surprised that he didn’t notice Jungkook approaching.

He notices the smug look on Jungkook’s face and frowns. “Why do you say that like you already know the answer?” V says sceptically as he picks up his drink and takes a big gulp. He’s been trying to ignore Jungkook tonight, thrown off by how hot he looks in the dark outfit and makeup, but it’s kind of hard to ignore someone when they start a conversation with you. He finds himself staring at Jungkook’s lips, still faintly stained with the black lipstick that’s faded after a few drinks. He thinks it’s rather fitting that Jungkook has dressed up as the Grim Reaper, because V swears that seeing Jungkook dressed and made-up like this is killing him.

“As if the drink isn’t enough of an indicator,” Jungkook scoffs. “Anyway, I saw you kissing that girl. Seems like you were having a good time.” His eyes are alight, as if he’s telling a joke.

“Which girl?” V asks stupidly, focused more on the movement of Jungkook’s lips than the conversation. He then bites his lip anxiously, wishing he could take the question back. It doesn’t even matter which girl, and Jungkook doesn’t need to know that there have been multiple girls just this evening.

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “The nurse one?”

“Oh, her. The one from just now,” V acknowledges. His brain is running a little slower from the alcohol coursing through his system and he belatedly cringes at how it sounds. “Look - there haven’t been _that_ many girls tonight, I just -”

“It’s none of my business who you make out with,” Jungkook shrugs.

V looks for evidence on Jungkook’s face that he’s lying, but he can’t find anything other than indifference. V frowns. Why doesn’t Jungkook care?

“Okay, but still, I don’t want you to think badly of me,” V insists.

“Like I said - none of my business,” Jungkook smiles. “Try not to kill yourself with all of the alcohol though, okay?” he adds, gesturing to V’s glass, three quarters full of what can only be described as liquid death.

“I was going to add Coke,” V protests half-heartedly, picking up a can of Coke and waving it in Jungkook’s face pointedly.

Jungkook laughs. “I suppose that’s better than nothing.” He sighs and picks up a can of lemonade from the table. “Anyway, I’m gonna head back to the kitchen. There’s food and it’s quieter there.” He makes to leave, but V touches his arm gently and Jungkook stops.

“Mind if I join you?” V asks hopefully. “I think I need a timeout from all the noise.”

Jungkook pauses for a second, seeming unsure, but then his expression clears and he nods. “Sure.”

They walk together through to the kitchen, which is surprisingly empty. Taehyung figures that it’s because in here the music is just a quiet hum in the background, plus there’s still a table full of snacks out in the living room.

“I could see you getting more and more uncomfortable as that girl kept hitting on you,” Jungkook chuckles as he sits down on the floor. He looks comfortable there, as if he may have been camping out on the floor all evening. Taehyung sits down next to him and tries not to stare. It’s kind of funny, really, how Jungkook has gone for dark clothes and makeup as his Halloween look, when that’s the type of vibe that Taehyung looks for in girls at parties. It makes him wonder, if circumstances were different and Taehyung were out already, and if he and Jungkook had never met each other at the beach, whether Jungkook would be one of Taehyung’s meaningless hook-ups at the party tonight. Whether Taehyung would even take the time to get to know him or simply get off and get out like he did with everyone else.

Taehyung brings himself back to the conversation and shrugs at Jungkook. “It’s fine. It’s not like she was out of order or anything. I led her on.”

“Still, you could tell by your body language. Or - at least I could,” Jungkook contemplates.

“Yeah, but we’re not exactly strangers, are we?” Taehyung smiles.

“I guess not,” Jungkook says quietly and Taehyung struggles to fill the silence before the disappointment in the room becomes tangible.

“How long were you in the living room? I thought you were upstairs with Jimin and the other Pink Ladies,” Taehyung says.

“Keeping track, were we?” Jungkook laughs. “But nah, I was in the main bit for a while. I even heard your whole speech about why you chose to dress up as a vampire tonight. I mean come on, what was _that_ about?” Jungkook shakes his head in bewilderment.

Taehyung laughs. “You’re gonna call me out on that?” he asks, amused. “Yeah, well. I figured ‘I don’t know’ wasn’t the best answer to give.”

“Probably would’ve been better than ‘I like exerting control over my victims’ or whatever. Were you _trying_ to be creepy? Or was it meant to be sexy? Because you really need to work on your pick up lines,” Jungkook teases.

“Ugh, I don’t know,” Taehyung sighs. “I started talking without thinking it through and it went a bit extreme.”

“What was the real reason you came as a vampire?” Jungkook questions.

Taehyung shrugs. “It wasn’t hard to make a decision. I just look hot in black.” He grins cockily, but it’s the nice kind of overconfidence; the teasing kind. Jungkook likes this side to him.

“I don’t think it makes a difference what colour you’re wearing,” Jungkook replies instinctively, but then he freezes.

Taehyung stares at him for a second. Is Jungkook flirting with him?

“Because I look great in every colour, or because I look shit no matter what I wear?” Taehyung asks jokily, but Jungkook understands that it’s a serious question.

“It doesn’t matter about the colour,” Jungkook reiterates, avoiding the question, “but I think you look best when you’re not trying to dress up as someone else.” They both know he’s not talking about the vampire.

“I can take out the fangs if you like,” Taehyung jokes, trying to lighten the mood. It works.

“You’re not wearing fangs,” Jungkook laughs.

“I could be!” Taehyung insists.

“Please,” Jungkook scoffs. “If you were wearing fangs you probably would’ve bitten that girl’s lips off.”

“She did say she wanted me to bite her,” Taehyung smirks.

“Gross,” Jungkook snorts.

“Whatever,” Taehyung grins. “I think I’m done with that for the night. Just gonna get really drunk instead.”

Jungkook scoffs. “On what, Coke?”

Taehyung looks down at the drink beside him to discover that he must have brought through the unopened Coca Cola can instead of his mix of spirits. “Oh,” he says eloquently.

“Shut up, that’s my line,” Jungkook snickers.

“You’re not the only one who’s allowed to be awkward!” Taehyung protests defensively.

“Fine by me,” Jungkook grins. “You can take it. I’ll generously give you all my awkwardness. I don’t need it anyway.”

“Nah, don’t do that, you’re cute when you’re nervous,” Taehyung teases, poking Jungkook’s waist.

“Stop it!” he squirms, smiling involuntarily at Taehyung’s ability to make light of any situation.

“Stop what?” Taehyung asks, his eyes alight with mischief. “Poking you, or thinking you’re cute?”

“Seriously, stop!” Jungkook giggles, swatting Taehyung’s hands away.

Taehyung grabs onto his hands when they swat at him and smiles at Jungkook widely, the alcohol still buzzing lowly in his system. “I still think you’re cute though.” His eyes flit down to Jungkook’s lips unconsciously and then back up to his eyes.

Jungkook stares back at Taehyung. Neither of them look away and Jungkook leans in closer.

Taehyung stands up abruptly and turns around so he can’t see Jungkook’s face; so he can’t be tempted by his lips. He can’t kiss Jungkook now. Not now when anyone could walk in at any moment. Not now when they agreed to just be friends. Not now when Jungkook is dating someone else.

“So,” Taehyung begins suddenly, still turned away from Jungkook so that Jungkook won’t see the conflicted expression on his face. “How did your date go?”

Jungkook stares after Taehyung for a second before regaining his bearings. “Good. Why?”

“No reason. Just making conversation.” Taehyung walks over to the fridge, far enough away from Jungkook that he won’t be tempted to sit down again and kiss him. “Is there food in here?” he asks, gesturing to the fridge door.

“It’s a fridge,” Jungkook says flatly. “What do you think?”

Taehyung opens the door and pulls out the tray of chicken that Jin left in there earlier. “Chicken?” he offers as he holds the tray out to Jungkook, his mouth already full of said chicken.

“You can’t eat that!” Jungkook rebukes, standing up and striding over to Taehyung to take the tray from him and put it back in the fridge. “It’s Jisoo’s special chicken.”

“But Jisoo’s a vegan,” Taehyung frowns.

“Not anymore,” Jungkook says. He closes the fridge door and looks at Taehyung disapprovingly. “It’s not your house. What makes you think you can just take the food?”

“You said you were in here because of the food,” Taehyung points out.

“But I’m allowed the food. I have special permission,” Jungkook responds.

“It’s probably for the party,” Taehyung shrugs. He moves away from Jungkook and sits down on the floor again.

“It’s not,” Jungkook replies stubbornly, sitting next to him on the floor. He sits a little too close, but Taehyung doesn’t have the strength to tell him to move. “Jin made an extra tray so Jisoo could keep it and eat it whenever she fancied a snack.”

“Well how was I to know it wasn’t meant to be eaten?” Taehyung says sulkily, getting mildly irritated. “It was in the fridge. Fridges are for food. Food is meant to be eaten.”

“It’s meant to be eaten; it’s just not meant to be eaten by _you_ ,” Jungkook says exasperatedly, annoyed by Taehyung’s lack of understanding.

Taehyung glares at Jungkook, ready to argue back, but when he locks eyes with Jungkook he realises how ridiculous the whole conversation is.

He starts to laugh, and when Jungkook continues to stare at him indignantly he laughs even harder.

“What’s so funny?” Jungkook grumbles.

“Us,” Taehyung giggles. “Why can’t we just have a normal conversation with each other without arguing? About _chicken_?”

“It’s not about the chicken; it’s about what the chicken represents - okay, fine,” he says shortly when Taehyung giggles even more. “Maybe you have a point,” he acknowledges with a small smile.

“I definitely have a point,” Taehyung agrees, dissolving into laughter once more and Jungkook joins in, because the whole thing really is ridiculous. They’re sitting together and chatting like they’ve never been more than ‘just friends’ and Taehyung was going to kiss Jungkook and Jungkook would have let him, but Taehyung is a little drunk and he might not even remember their almost-kiss tomorrow and it’s all so ridiculous that Jungkook has no idea what to do with himself anymore.

“Hey,” Taehyung says abruptly, cutting off their laughter. He holds his hand up, gesturing for Jungkook to be quiet for a second, before he grins. “I love this song! Come on, come dance with me!” He jumps up and holds out his hand to help Jungkook up, so Jungkook takes it and he lets himself be lead through to the living room.

It’s a song that Jungkook doesn’t recognise, but Taehyung is smiling so brightly that Jungkook finds he doesn’t mind at all. They dance together, bodies pushed close against each other because there isn’t enough space in the room for all the people, but he hardly notices the cramped atmosphere when Taehyung is grinning so brightly and singing along to the music with such enthusiasm.

Although their bodies are surrounded by lots of people Jungkook doesn’t know, he finds that he’s having a lot of fun. And even when Jimin comes over excitedly to join them and trips up on Jungkook’s cloak, and the other Pink Ladies and T-Birds join in and dance alongside them, Jungkook still smiles widely. If he and Taehyung have to be ‘just friends’, at least they’re talking and joking around like they used to.

And if Jungkook realises that his and Taehyung’s interactions are definitely pushing the boundaries of conventional friendship, he doesn’t say a word; content for now to simply live in the moment and enjoy the beauty of Taehyung’s smile whenever he looks Jungkook’s way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy so! rohope is now canon! (that’s what I’m calling it lol)
> 
> also I know that it’s completely unrealistic for Jisoo and Rosé not to know Frozen, but please bear in mind they’re also based off Marty and Rizzo and anyway I wanted that sub-plot for the story development so yah so just go with it haha
> 
> thank you for reading agh I hope you like it, I never meant for there to be so much pining but there you go
> 
> if you feel like commenting and sharing your thoughts then please go ahead ^.^


	10. my heart is set on you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook realises that he doesn't want to move on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy!

At 11am on Friday morning, Jungkook sits in his bedroom with his laptop perched on his lap as he waits for Junghwa to answer the video call. It takes her 10 minutes to come online and pick up.

“You know how I get annoyed with you when you’re not punctual?” she says by way of greeting. The picture is a little blurry, but Jungkook can tell that her hair is a mess and she’s still in her pyjamas.

“Obviously,” Jungkook says with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yeah, well, this is one of those times when you really should’ve been late,” she yawns.

“You picked the time,” Jungkook snickers.

“I know. What was I thinking?” Junghwa groans. “It was Halloween last night. I’m so hungover.”

“Long night?” Jungkook asks sympathetically.

“Yeah. How was your party?”

“Actually pretty good.”

“Was your crush there?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Yes, he was.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Are you going to answer all my questions like that?”

“Yes, I am.”

Junghwa sighs tiredly. “I did not roll out of bed to have a one-sided conversation like this.”

“No, you didn’t,” Jungkook says pointedly. “You’re still _in_ bed.”

Junghwa scowls. “I didn’t think the pillows were still in shot. Anyway – the party.”

“Oh yeah, how was it?” Jungkook asks interestedly.

Junghwa shrugs. “Same old. Got drunk. Got bored. Got _off topic_ : I’m asking about yours. You went to a costume thing, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jungkook says.

Junghwa waits for Jungkook to elaborate, but he doesn’t.

“Seriously, Jungkook,” Junghwa groans. “Give me something to work with here.”

Jungkook looks at the laptop screen nervously before blurting out, “We almost kissed.” He waits a few seconds for Junghwa to register what he said, taking account of the lag, but once her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to respond, Jungkook freaks out and slams his laptop shut.

“Jungkook, how dare you!” Junghwa squeaks. “I know you can hear me.”

“Why the hell didn’t that turn it off?” Jungkook mutters, picking up the laptop and fiddling around with it to see where he went wrong.

“I can still hear you, you Hwook,” she chastises. “Open your laptop and talk to me.”

Jungkook sighs in resignation. He opens up his laptop again and looks shamefully at Junghwa’s stern face, his own face still tinged red with embarrassment. “What?” he asks weakly.

“Details!” she demands.

“That’s it, I guess,” Jungkook shrugs sadly. “We were going to kiss, but we didn’t. I don’t know. I thought he was going to kiss me, but then he didn’t. That’s literally it, I –”

“Jungkook, you’re rambling,” she interrupts. “And for someone who hardly speaks, that’s worrying.” Her gaze softens. “Did you want him to?”

“I… Yes. I did. I really did, I –” Jungkook shakes his head tiredly. “I don’t want to be just friends, Junghwa. I want more.”

Junghwa looks at him, concerned. “What about all the pretending? You said you hated that.”

“I changed my mind,” Jungkook admits. “Even if we have to sneak around and not tell anybody how close we are… I just want him back, Hwook. I miss him.”

“Does he know that?” Junghwa asks gently.

“Of course not,” Jungkook says with a roll of his eyes. “But does it matter?”

“Of course it does,” she says simply. “But I hate seeing your face like that so let’s talk about something else. But first, a word of advice: don’t just sit there and wait for things to change, okay? If you want something to change, you have to change it yourself.”

“What’s wrong with my face?” Jungkook asks, picking up on the least important part of Junghwa’s comment.

“It’s all screwed up and sad. I don’t like it.”

“That’s just my face,” Jungkook mutters, mildly offended.

Junghwa snorts. “Stop being an idiot. Come on, catch me up. I’ve missed out on almost a whole _week_ of your very interesting life, so fill me in. Don’t miss anything out.”

“Well,” Jungkook smirks, “on Monday morning I woke up and stayed in bed for a few minutes before I got up. Then when I did get up, I had a shower and then I got changed into a white t-shirt and some jeans and I wore stripy socks –”

“Okay, not what I was going for,” Junghwa interjects irritably.

“Oh, hey, I’ve been talking to Bambam a lot,” Jungkook says, his mood perking up. “He’s actually pretty cool. I mentioned how I thought dancing seemed like a lot of fun, even though I’ve never tried it, and he invited me to join his dance group next Tuesday for a taster session.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Junghwa says excitedly. “See? Matchmaker Junghwa didn’t do such a bad job after all,” she smiles mischievously.

“Okay, firstly, don’t refer to yourself in the third person, it’s weird,” Jungkook says, his face scrunched up in disgust. “Also, I’m pretty sure you weren’t trying to match us up for _friendship_.” At Junghwa’s indignant expression, Jungkook holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “But sure, you can take the credit. You did get us to meet, after all.”

“Firstly, _you’re welcome_ ,” Junghwa says pointedly. “Also, you’re making that face again. Please stop.”

“I told you. It’s just my face,” Jungkook laughs.

“No, it’s not! Your face is cute!” Junghwa protests.

“What have I told you about flirting with me?” Jungkook grins cheekily.

“Like you would be so lucky,” Junghwa grins back. “Right then. I’ve heard about you – now let’s talk about me.”

And so Junghwa tells Jungkook about the lectures that are too confusing, the plays she doesn’t understand and the people on her course that she thinks are cute, the two of them chatting and laughing together right up until the internet connection fails and the Skype call comes to a sudden end.

 

***

 

On Tuesday after school, Bambam knocks at Jungkook’s door and waits for him to come out. Jungkook mentioned he was worried about turning up at the dance studio before Bambam, since he didn’t know anybody else, so Bambam suggested that they walked down together. They’re making a day of it, arranging to go back to Bambam’s house afterwards and order pizza, maybe watch a movie. It’s like a date but without the romance and Jungkook is actually pretty excited.

They walk down together and Bambam tells him about the different routines they’re currently learning. Jungkook tries not to get too nervous about it, because he knows that he’s good at sports and physical activities, so he figures that the class shouldn’t be too challenging for him.

When they enter the studio, Bambam introduces Jungkook to the teacher and then they head over to one of the benches to wait. There are only a few other people in the studio because they arrived a bit early, but as the time passes more people start to file in. Jungkook looks around the room interestedly, seeing people chatting to each other and stretching, but then he sees somebody he recognises and his stomach drops.

“Bambam,” he says carefully, “is that V?”

Bambam looks over to where Jungkook is pointing: a boy in tracksuit bottoms and a loose hoodie stands in the corner, facing the wall so that he’s turned away from the rest of the room. He appears to be tying up the shoelaces on his trainers. Jungkook scratches his head awkwardly and wishes he had the motivation to look away.

“Oh yeah, it is,” Bambam says in realisation. “I’m so sorry! I would have mentioned that he comes here but I kind of… forgot. He made us swear never to mention him joining, even threatened to beat up a couple people. He only does the classes, never performances or anything.” He turns to Jungkook apologetically. “To be honest I’m so used to people pretending he’s not here that I don’t even notice him anymore.” Jungkook listens attentively, but once Bambam has finished his explanation Jungkook springs into action.

“I’m going to go say hello,” he says determinedly before walking off.

“Wait, no – that’s not a good idea, he’ll get mad –” Bambam tries to warn him, but Jungkook is gone.

“Hey, V,” he calls before approaching, so as not to startle him. V doesn’t even turn around.

“Did nobody warn you about what happens when you try and talk to me?” He sounds irritated – no, angry; kind of like he’s about to hit something or someone, and Jungkook doesn’t know what’s happened to get him all riled up, so he puts a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. V throws him off so forcefully that Jungkook thinks he may have hurt his hand a little bit. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he spits and Jungkook blanches. He’s never heard V sound so cold.

“Tae…” he whines in protest and V swings around immediately, looking completely shocked, but the emotion dissipates once he sees Jungkook looking at him.

“Oh – it’s – I didn’t know you were – uh, sorry,” V grimaces.

“Good to see you too,” Jungkook giggles. “Weren’t kidding about that tough persona, hey?” He shakes his hand out to emphasise his point.

“Shut up, the others will hear you,” V warns, but he’s smiling now too.

“How did you get them to keep this a secret?” Jungkook wonders.

“I’ve got shit on all these people,” V grins. “There’s no way they’d dare talk in case I did too.”

“Ooh, I’m really getting into these bad boy vibes,” Jungkook teases, pushing V’s shoulder, who blushes at the comment. “Shame you’re just an adorable cinnamon roll on the inside, though.”

“Did you actually just say ‘cinnamon roll’?” V splutters, holding back his laughter. “Wow, you are such a dork. I forgot you spent all of your free time on Tumblr before you met me.”

“Hey, that’s a secret!” Jungkook protests.

“Sure, sure,” V laughs. “Anyway, what are you doing here? I didn’t think you danced.”

“I didn’t think you danced, either,” Jungkook smirks.

“And yet here I am,” V smiles. “Did you just turn up or…?”

“Actually, Bambam invited me,” Jungkook explains.

“Oh,” V says. “Great. That’s… nice,” he finishes feebly. He wishes he could be happy for Jungkook, but he’s stupid and selfish and bitter.

“Yeah, I think it will be fun,” Jungkook smiles, oblivious to V’s change in mood.

“Right, well, it’s good to see you, anyway.”

“Likewise!” Jungkook grins. “Hey, do you think the dances will be difficult?” he asks anxiously. “Because I’ve never –”

“Jungkook, we’re starting,” a voice says in Jungkook’s ear and he jumps. Bambam is standing right behind him and Jungkook wonders how he didn’t hear him approaching. But then again, with V stood right in front of him, somehow looking ethereal even in a simple hoodie and tracksuit bottoms, Jungkook supposes it’s no wonder he can’t notice anybody else. “Just follow me, okay?” Bambam says kindly. Jungkook nods, and as he follows Bambam to the front of the class, he wonders whether V has told the others specifically that no one can even acknowledge his presence.

The class begins and Jungkook is proud of himself for how quickly he picks up the new moves. The teacher gives him a couple of pointers about how to make his dancing flow better and he nods attentively, glad for the chance to improve. Bambam also seems to be a really good dancer and Jungkook finds himself admiring his talent. But, more often than not, Jungkook finds himself admiring V instead – the sharpness of his movements perfectly in time with the beat and the charisma that’s evident in every twist and turn. V catches Jungkook’s eye a couple of times, noticing him watching. The first time Jungkook averts his eyes quickly in embarrassment, but the second time he feels confident enough to hold V’s gaze, curious about how he’ll react. V bites his lip and continues dancing fluidly, keeping eye contact until Jungkook turns red and looks away. He can see V smirking at him in the mirror at the front of the room. By the end of the practice Jungkook is very short of breath and he has a feeling that it’s not just because of the exercise.

He heads out of the dance class with Bambam and is in the process of telling him how much he enjoyed the dancing and asking whether he could come again next week when V sidles up to them, putting his arm round Jungkook’s shoulders and giving Bambam the filthiest look Jungkook thinks he’s ever seen.

“What did you think of the class?” V asks Jungkook, interrupting Bambam’s sentence.

“Um, yeah – I was just telling Bambam how much I enjoyed it,” Jungkook responds, not wanting to leave anybody out. He looks to Bambam with a polite smile, who actually feels very confused. Is he still meant to ignore V’s presence at the dance group when they’ve left the venue and he’s somehow found himself engaged in a conversation with him?

“Um,” Jungkook pauses as Bambam says nothing and V continues to glare in his direction. “Uh, so V – are you – do you come often?”

V raises his eyebrows and smirks at him. Jungkook feels his ears turning red as he realises what he’s said, but before he has a chance to rephrase his question, V easily replies, “I joined near the beginning of summer actually.” He pauses, glancing at Bambam again with an expression that Jungkook can’t read. “A week or so before I met you,” he adds quietly.

Bambam gazes at them curiously. He knows that Jungkook and V met before school started, but Jungkook has long since given up the story that he and V became good friends over summer and instead tells of the time that they ran into each other one day at the beach, and Jungkook was a little smitten even though V didn’t pay much attention to him. It doesn’t exactly paint Jungkook in the best light, but he finds it’s the only way of explaining how he and V recognised each other at school, plus it gives some sort of reason for why he’d ‘invented’ the story about them falling for each other over summer.

Bambam, only knowing the altered version of their summer romance, cannot understand why V is currently smiling at Jungkook softly, reminiscing about the day they met. Is there something he’s missing?

“Anyway,” Jungkook starts, breaking the silence, “I told Bambam I’d come round his for pizza after practice, so I’ll see you later.” He removes V’s hand from his shoulder and waves at him slightly, before grabbing Bambam’s arm so that he follows Jungkook as they walk down the street.

They hardly make it three words into Bambam’s enquiry of what all that was about before V has caught up with them again, pushing in between them and stating that maybe he should join them.

Bambam looks at V like he’s gone crazy. “But I don’t even know you,” he states in bewilderment. “You’re not coming to my house.”

“Is this your new boyfriend then?” V asks Jungkook, ignoring Bambam’s comment.

“No, it’s not like that,” he denies quickly, but then his eyes widen and he laughs in sudden realisation. “Oh my God. You’re jealous.”

“Why would I be jealous?” he scoffs.

“Yeah – why would you be jealous?” Bambam agrees, looking at V curiously. V turns his head to direct another glare at Bambam and Jungkook grins like he’s just won the lottery.

“You are! You’re jealous that Bambam and I are dating,” he cheers triumphantly.

V bites his lip in thought, contemplating how best to eliminate Bambam from the equation right now without upsetting Jungkook. He figures pushing him out onto the road into oncoming traffic may be a bit far, but he’s not too sure.

“Actually, we’re not going out,” Bambam argues, looking between Jungkook and V and trying to figure them out. “But… why would you care anyway?”

“You’re… you’re really not?” V asks, paying attention to Bambam for the first time. His step falters. Bambam shakes his head. “Oh,” he responds smoothly.

“We did go on a date though, although you know that,” Jungkook continues happily. “And a relationship between the two of us definitely isn’t off the table,” he adds chirpily. Bambam wonders why Jungkook is deliberately making it worse.

“It _is_ off the table,” V combats, wrapping a protective arm around Jungkook with a sideways glance at Bambam.

“Not really though –” Jungkook begins, but V cuts him off.

“He’s mine,” he growls at Bambam, before kissing Jungkook right on the lips. Jungkook doesn’t react for a moment, too shocked to respond, but then he relaxes into V’s arms, kissing him back gently like he’s been picturing doing ever since his parents drove him away that day at the end of summer.

The kiss is over soon after it’s begun, but V is still holding him close, their foreheads pressed together. As they stand there staring at each other, Jungkook’s eyes so clear and pretty and happy to be looking right into Taehyung’s – because this is real, not a persona, he’s sure of it – V releases a relieved breath he hadn’t realised he was holding in.

Jungkook lets out a breathy chuckle and admits quietly, “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to do that again.”

But all too suddenly Jungkook remembers where they are and who they’re with. He turns around to see Bambam gaping at them. Jungkook feels mortified – and not only because Bambam has just third-wheeled a very intimate moment.

“Straight crush, huh,” Bambam comments sarcastically, feeling a little betrayed that he’s been lied to. V looks at him in confusion.

“I couldn’t say anything,” Jungkook says, imploring for Bambam to understand. “It’s not my secret to tell.”

Bambam looks to their hands which are now linked together and sighs. “Yeah, okay. And it’s not mine either. You’d better be glad I’m gay too though, or I might not understand how important that is.” He turns to V. “Look, you better treat him well, okay? He’s still my friend.”

“I know. I will, I swear,” V promises. He looks at Jungkook, genuine apologies for everything he’s done on the tip of his tongue, but Jungkook squeezes his hand, telling him not to worry. They’re okay for now.

There’s silence for a moment, none of them really knowing how to continue the conversation, before Jungkook squeezes V’s hand again and then lets go. “I really did arrange to go to Bambam’s tonight,” Jungkook says apologetically. “Can we talk when I get back?”

V bites his lip nervously. “Yeah, of course. I’ll call you?”

Bambam raises his eyebrows at them. “If you guys want some time together, we can always take a rain check.”

“Really?” Jungkook asks eagerly, before he realises he’s being really rude. “But what about the pizza? We had plans…”

“We can do that any time,” Bambam laughs. “Besides, I’m sure Yugyeom will be happy to come over tonight instead; he’s always up for free food.”

“Who’s Yugyeom?” Jungkook asks interestedly.

“He goes to dance – he was the one in all black with too much attitude?” V prompts.

Jungkook smirks. “Sounds like you at school.”

“Shut up,” V chuckles.

“Okay…” Bambam says awkwardly, backing away from them. “Well. You guys have fun. I’ll catch up to you later, Jungkook, yeah?”

“Yeah sure,” Jungkook says gratefully. He turns to Taehyung apprehensively. “So.”

“Shall we go somewhere more private?” V asks, looking around nervously at the passers-by.

“It’s getting late,” Jungkook frowns. “Where did you have in mind?”

They end up at Jungkook’s house. When they walk in, the kitchen is empty so Jungkook calls out a “Mum, I’m home!” and hears a “You’re back earlier than I expected!” from nearby. Jungkook walks through to the living room and Taehyung follows behind him awkwardly.

“Was the pizza not any good?” Jungkook’s mother asks, looking up from her laptop. She frowns at her son. “Or was it something else? That boy didn’t try it on with you, did he? I told you to be careful – oh, hello Taehyung!” she says in surprise as she notices Taehyung loitering in the doorway. “I didn’t know you were visiting. Were you in the area?”

Taehyung frowns. “I’m always in the area. Jungkook and I go to the same school.” He looks at Jungkook, feeling confused and slightly hurt. “Did you not tell her?”

“It didn’t come up,” Jungkook shrugs, feeling awkward at all the attention being placed on him.

“Well, it’s lovely to see you again,” Mrs Jeon says, recovering quickly. “Did you want a cup of tea, either of you?”

“No, that’s okay, thanks,” Taehyung smiles.

“We’re going to go sit in my room. I’ll see you later,” Jungkook says to his mum before walking up the stairs. Taehyung waves to Mrs Jeon before following Jungkook up.

“Nice house,” Taehyung comments as they reach Jungkook’s room.

Jungkook grimaces. “Thanks. It’s pretty cramped.”

Jungkook pushes the door open and Taehyung grins when he sees the Iron Man bedding. “Is that to match your Iron Man pyjamas?” he asks teasingly, gesturing to the bed.

“What? How did you -”

“Hani told me about it,” Taehyung chuckles. “And I thought it was cute, so I remembered. I like your room, by the way.” The walls are covered in different posters, ranging from superheroes to female singers to boybands.

“It isn’t as big as yours,” Jungkook mutters as he sits on the edge of the bed.

“But that’s because my room is big, not because yours is small,” Taehyung says fairly, taking a seat next to him. “Hey, is your dog around? I’d love to meet him.”

“He’s not staying here,” Jungkook says sadly. “Mum and dad thought the place was too small to confine him to, plus we don’t have a garden, so he’s staying with my grandparents until we can rent a bigger place.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Taehyung says. He places his hand on top of Jungkook’s consolingly. “Hey, maybe one day you can get the bus home with me and we can go see him. Your grandparents’ house is only 10 minutes or so away from mine, right?”

“Yeah. That might be nice. Thanks,” Jungkook smiles. He twists his hand underneath Taehyung’s so that their palms are pressed together and he interlaces their fingers. He looks up at Taehyung apprehensively. “Taehyung, what are we doing?”

Taehyung sighs and holds Jungkook’s hand tighter. “I don’t know. All I know is that I’m happier when I’m with you than when I’m with anyone else. And that I really want to kiss you again.”

Jungkook smiles and presses their lips together. “I’ve missed this,” he murmurs contently.

“We have to be careful about this, okay?” Taehyung says seriously. He squeezes Jungkook’s hand. “I want to find the time to see you, but we can’t make it look suspicious.”

Jungkook frowns, thinking it over for a second. “Hey, do you remember when Miss Park suggested you gave me some performance help to improve my confidence?” Jungkook asks suddenly, his eyes shining with excitement. “It’s the perfect excuse to spend more time together, plus I do kind of really need the help.”

“That’s a great idea,” Taehyung says excitedly. Unable to resist the temptation, he kisses Jungkook softly on the lips again. “When are you free?”

“I’m free whenever,” Jungkook shrugs, before backtracking. “I mean, I’ll have to check, of course. I have a _life_ , I have friends, I -”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung interrupts softly. “Stop overthinking. I’m not going to think you’re a loser for being available.” He kisses Jungkook again, Jungkook kissing back and whining when Taehyung pulls away far too soon. “So. Does Thursday work for you? You’re not too busy with your life, or your friends?” Taehyung smirks.

“Shut up,” Jungkook mumbles. He presses another chaste kiss against Taehyung’s lips, because he can’t get used to this feeling of being allowed to kiss him. He misses Taehyung’s lips as soon as they stop touching his own.

Taehyung must feel the same way, because he wraps his arms round Jungkook’s waist and leans in again. Jungkook’s hands come up to touch Taehyung’s arms, his face, his neck, his hair as their lips move gently against each other. Taehyung’s hands tighten around Jungkook’s waist, pulling him closer and kissing him softly, surely, and Jungkook kisses him back as if he never wants him to let go. And maybe there’s more truth in that than either of them realise.

They’ve only kissed like this a couple of times before (the majority of their kisses being chaste and short-lived) but despite being few and far between, kissing Taehyung this way is still one of Jungkook’s favourite memories from the beach.

Once summer ended, Jungkook refused to think about how good Taehyung’s lips felt moving gently against his own, not wanting to dwell on what was no longer his. But now Taehyung is back - and at least in this moment, Taehyung is his.

When they both break apart for air, Taehyung rests his forehead against Jungkook’s. Jungkook stares into Taehyung’s eyes and feels himself being transported back to the beach; back to when he first began to understand all the emotions behind those beautiful eyes; back before things got complicated.

Taehyung gulps. “So. Thursday?” he confirms, a little out of breath.

“How about tomorrow?” Jungkook whispers.

 

***

 

The next day, Jungkook and Taehyung head to the park after school. They find a quiet spot where nobody else is around and Taehyung sits down on the grass, resting his back against a tree. “Sing for me!” Taehyung instructs happily.

Jungkook blanches. “We’re really going to start this straight away? I thought maybe we could… ease into it a little,” he suggests.

“This is why we’re here, right?” Taehyung asks with raised eyebrows.

“I – I thought we wanted to spend more time together,” Jungkook says quietly. Had he somehow misunderstood the agreement?

“That too,” Taehyung chuckles. “But don’t you think that this confidence thing should be a priority? I know you want to do well in your exams and time is getting on, my friend. Besides, I’ve never heard you sing before. I’m curious.”

“I’m not really sure –”

“Stop procrastinating and sing!” Taehyung insists with a wide grin. “Come on. I’m listening.”

So Jungkook takes a deep breath, opens his mouth and starts to sing. It’s a song called Paper Hearts, which Jungkook has been listening to pretty much on repeat ever since he first heard it.

Taehyung’s grin fades as Jungkook starts to sing, replaced instead by an expression of wonder, and by the time Jungkook reaches the end of the first chorus Taehyung’s jaw has fallen open.

Jungkook blushes embarrassedly. “I haven’t really practised it...” he explains defensively. “I know that it needs some work -”

“Holy shit, you’re good,” Taehyung interrupts him, feeling a little speechless but also realising he needs to reassure Jungkook about his capabilities.

“You - what?” Jungkook asks eloquently.

“Seriously.” Taehyung shakes his head in amazement. “Why were you nervous about singing to me?” he continues softly. “I understand what Miss Park meant now; you’re really talented, Kookie.”

“Oh,” Jungkook responds. Apparently now it’s his turn to be speechless.

“You just need a bit of confidence and you’ll be good to go!” Taehyung grins. “Okay, so I may not know anything technical about vocals, but I’m an actor and that uses the voice so it’s practically the same, right?”

Wrong, Jungkook thinks, but he decides to let Taehyung continue anyway.

“I think we should begin with some of the vocal warm-up exercises that I do in Drama lessons. We can also maybe do a bit of improv to help you with your body language! That will help you look more confident,” Taehyung says excitedly.

Jungkook isn’t sure how an improvised acting scene will improve his musical abilities, but Taehyung seems so excited by the prospect that Jungkook simply smiles back.

“Okay, let’s get started!” Taehyung grins. And Taehyung may make Jungkook do the most ridiculous warm-ups - insisting that if Jungkook is fully embarrassed now then nothing will feel embarrassing later - but Jungkook goes along with it, finding that he doesn’t mind being embarrassed all that much when it’s with Taehyung.

 

***

 

On Thursday morning, Jungkook meets Jimin at the school gates with a big smile on his face that he hasn’t been able to shake since last night.

“You’re in a good mood this morning,” Jimin comments idly as they walk into school.

“It’s been a good week,” Jungkook answers honestly. As they walk through the groups of people milling around outside to find the other Pink Ladies, they pass by the T-Birds and Jungkook grins even harder. LE, Hani and Suga are in their own separate group, laughing about something or other. J-Hope and Rosé are making out, the scene almost a replica of what Jungkook walked in on last Thursday except without the sofa. Meanwhile V leans against a wall, surrounded by girls, with his facial expression a perfect balance of arrogance and disinterest. He stands there casually, making advances and letting the girls check him out and still Jungkook smiles widely, because these girls may have the pleasure of flirting with V right now, but only Jungkook had the pleasure of spending hours with him last night, firstly working on Jungkook’s performance skills and later passing the time by kissing and chatting and cuddling.

“Seriously, what’s got you so cheery?” Jimin chuckles.

“Nothing. Just got some good test scores at school yesterday,” Jungkook replies happily.

“Oh, talking of which, isn’t your Music performance mock coming up soon?” Jimin asks interestedly.

“Not for another month,” Jungkook responds.

“Oh,” Jimin says, immediately deflating. “From how much you’ve been worrying about it, I thought it was sooner.”

“Yeah, well,” Jungkook sighs. “I want it to go well.” He grimaces, wondering whether he’ll really have time to prepare enough. He and Taehyung made good progress yesterday, but a month isn’t really that long and Jungkook hasn’t even chosen his song yet.

Jimin gapes at how quickly Jungkook’s cheerfulness fades. “I didn’t mean to kill your good mood!” he squeaks. “Stop thinking and be happy for once. It’s nice.”

Jungkook frowns. “It’s not like I’m always miserable?”

“You should see your face sometimes,” Jimin says pointedly. “As if there’s so much going on in your life but you’re too scared to tell anybody about it. I kind of worry about you, you know.”

Jungkook laughs. “Well don’t. I’m happy. Thanks, though.”

“Anytime,” Jimin grins. “So, do you think Rosé will be joining us for lunch or do you think she’ll blow us off again?”

“She hasn’t sat with us once since she and J-Hope started dating,” Jungkook points out – not that he’s bothered. He feels guilty for thinking it, but he prefers the Pink Ladies’ company without Rosé there to dampen the mood.

“Still, I remain hopeful,” Jimin says optimistically.

“Is that a pun?” Jungkook says flatly.

Jimin laughs. “Not an intentional one. God, though, if that’s your reaction to them, Jin will be in for a shock next time he tries to crack a joke. I’m sometimes the only one who laughs at his puns, and usually I’m laughing _at_ him.”

Jungkook smirks. Unfortunately, he has already been subjected to a lot of Jin’s puns, although he’s mastered the art of pretending he doesn’t understand them. It’s easier to pacify Jin with faked stupidity than having to explain why he doesn’t find Jin’s jokes funny.

“Anyway, while we’re on the topic of couples,” Jungkook says decisively, “what’s happening with you and Suga?”

Jimin frowns. “What do you mean?”

Jungkook looks at him warily. “You’re not really that oblivious, right? You two are obviously crazy about each other.”

Jimin smiles noncommittally. “I like him a lot and we’re good friends, but that’s where it ends.”

“Were we at the same party last week?” Jungkook asks disbelievingly.

“What are you talking about?” Jimin frowns.

Jungkook sighs. “Don’t worry.”

“Look. I like him, but I’m not stupid. We’ve known each other for a while and he’s never acted like anything more than a friend to me.”

“Really?” Jungkook asks dubiously, a little upset that he may have simply read the situation wrong. He looks at Jimin curiously. “What did he get you for your birthday?” he questions. Jungkook may not be an expert in the area of romance, but he thinks he’d be able to tell the difference between a gift from a friend and a gift from someone who wants to be more than a friend.

Jimin blushes and looks down at the ground. “He… made me a mixtape. Of my favourite songs,” he clarifies when Jungkook stares at him incredulously.

“That’s really cute,” Jungkook chuckles. “He obviously cares about you.” A mix of emotions flit across Jimin’s face and Jungkook looks at him sympathetically. “Just… think about it, okay?”

Jimin sighs. “It’s all I do.” He seems a little too deep in his thoughts to continue the conversation any longer, so Jungkook decides to drop the subject for the time being.

 

***

 

On Saturday afternoon, Jimin is busy attempting to go over his Chemistry notes and make some sense out of it when his phone rings and he loses his train of thought. Not feeling too upset at the prospect of a distraction from Chemistry, he picks up his phone to see the name ‘Suga’ displayed on the screen.

It isn’t uncommon for Jimin to receive a phone call from Suga asking to come over, especially at the weekends, but after his conversation with Jungkook earlier in the week, Jimin has been overthinking everything Suga does.

Jimin picks up the phone resignedly and says, “Hello?”

“Can I come over?” Suga asks – short and to the point, as always.

“Of course,” Jimin replies, as always.

Jimin puts away his school books, fixes his hair and heads downstairs, ready to open the door for when Suga arrives. It doesn’t take long and soon enough Suga walks into Jimin’s house, hangs up his T-Bird jacket in the hallway and sinks onto the sofa. “Thanks,” he mutters to Jimin.

“No problem,” Jimin responds, tight-lipped. “Family troubles again?”

“Yep,” Suga responds noncommittally.

“Want to talk about it?” Jimin asks, as always.

“Nope,” Suga answers, as always. Suga has the amazing ability of pushing all his problems away until they no longer bother him. Jimin stopped being surprised about this a long time ago.

“Do you want a drink?” Jimin asks pleasantly.

Suga sighs. “Sure. What do you have?” He acts as if he doesn’t know Jimin’s house well enough to already know the answer, but Jimin doesn’t comment on it.

Suga follows him through to the kitchen and Jimin opens the fridge door. “We have juice, milk, squash in the cupboard, tea, coffee…” He looks at Suga apprehensively. “Hot chocolate?” Suga always chooses coffee, except on the particularly rough days when he’ll ask for hot chocolate instead. On those days, Jimin adds marshmallows and cocoa powder and he jokes about making the hot chocolate especially warm and sweet, just like Suga. In reply, Suga usually then jokes that Jimin is only trying to warm up his cold heart and sweeten his bitter personality. Jimin likes these conversations, and he likes hot chocolate, but he doesn’t like the sadness that he’s come to associate with them. Jimin always hopes the answer won’t be hot chocolate.

Suga isn’t really paying attention to the options. He’s looking at the milk carton; something he’s taken to doing every time he goes round Jimin’s house. He’s waiting for a slip-up, but each time it’s the same. The milk is still in date. It’s only a small thing, or at least it should be – but something about it makes Suga feel that even when his own world is crashing down around him, he can always depend on Jimin.

“Coffee would be good,” he answers eventually and Jimin breathes an internal sigh of relief.

“Coffee it is,” Jimin nods. He’s made enough coffee for Suga that he doesn’t need to ask him how he takes it anymore. After Jimin’s made two cups of coffee, one for each of them, they move back to the living room to sit down on the sofa. “So what do you want to do?” Jimin asks.

Suga shrugs. “What were you doing before I got here?”

Jimin grimaces. “Chemistry. But don’t worry, I’m fine taking a break from that hellhole.”

“No, actually, that might be good,” Suga says contemplatively, taking a sip from his cup. “I really have no idea what I’m doing in that class at the moment.”

Jimin laughs. “That makes the two of us.”

“Come on, you’re super smart,” Suga dismisses him. “You’re good at explaining things and I could use the help. I really need to do well – you know that.”

Jimin does know that. Suga went back to school because he couldn’t get a promotion at work without some proper qualifications, and without the promotion he can’t afford a place of his own. That means staying with his family, and whilst he gets along well with his brother, his parents’ constant arguing is slowly wearing him down. He’s desperate to move out – and to move out, he needs to pass Chemistry.

“I’ll go get my notes,” Jimin smiles softly.

Suga smiles back gratefully. “Thanks.”

They spend the rest of the afternoon like this, with Jimin explaining different theories and calculations to Suga as they work through the syllabus methodically. Jimin realises he doesn’t hate Chemistry as much when he’s doing it with Suga. But he still finds himself overthinking it all; wondering why Suga always comes to Jimin instead of anybody else.

“Why me?” he asks eventually, putting down his pencil.

Suga stops leaning over their textbook to raise his eyebrows at Jimin. “Why you, what?”

“Why do you always come here?” Jimin persists. “Why not J-Hope, or V, or anybody else?”

Suga leans back on the sofa and stretches out his legs, taking his time to answer. Jimin tries to ignore the patch of skin that’s revealed when Suga’s shirt rides up.

“Your house is closer,” Suga settles on. “Anyway, I go to J-Hope sometimes, too. Did you just assume you’re the only person I talk to?”

Jimin smiles awkwardly, trying to hide his embarrassment. He doesn’t know why he thought that Suga’s instinctive reaction would be to call Jimin. Now that he thinks about it rationally, he’s probably always been second choice. “Sorry, you’re right,” Jimin says with a forced chuckle. “Shall we get back to these notes? We’ve almost caught up to what we’re learning in class at the moment.”

Jimin doesn’t wait for a response, instead choosing to turn back to the textbook and highlight some key phrases. He doesn’t see how Suga’s eyes are still trained on him longingly; behind them, all words he wishes he could say but has never had the courage to.

Jimin points out something in the textbook with his pen, but Suga isn’t looking. “With this equation, it can seem a bit complicated but you just have to –”

“I trust you,” Suga interrupts.

Jimin looks up in surprise. “What?”

“I trust you,” Suga repeats, more certainly this time. “That’s why I come to you and not anyone else.” They stare at each other for a second until Suga coughs awkwardly. “So – the equation?” Suga hides his face in Jimin’s Chemistry notes, turning away too quickly to notice Jimin smiling gently at him. But luckily Suga doesn’t miss the opportunity to see Jimin’s smile, because Jimin can’t wipe the smile from his face for the rest of the evening.

Suga has always found Jimin’s happiness to be infectious. And sure, the two of them may spend their time together doing revision for their least favourite subject, but Suga finds that he smiles more than usual that night, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sidenote: in my head the Music/Drama teacher is Sandara Park from 2NE1 but aged up a bit, not that it matters but that's where the name came from haha woo
> 
> also the yoonmin subplot is coming in a bit more now so yayyyy hope that you like it ^.^


	11. I'm sure down deep inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here have some fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi there, sorry for the wait! this chapter is basically pure fluff - I figured they deserved a bit of happiness haha hope you enjoy ^.^

Jungkook and Bambam walk together to dance on Tuesday. They’ve rescheduled their pizza night for this evening and Bambam is lowkey worried that Jungkook will cancel on him again, but Jungkook isn’t bothered about seeing Taehyung tonight because they’ve arranged to hang out together on Thursday.

Even with the knowledge that he and Taehyung will pretend they’re nothing more than friends at tonight’s rehearsal, Jungkook can’t stop his heart fluttering at the thought of seeing him again. There’s something refreshing about seeing Taehyung dance so uninhibitedly, dressed in slacks and with a makeup-free face; as if for once he’s not so desperately trying to be someone else.

After the dance class starts and they’ve done a few warm-up exercises, the teacher announces that they’re going to practise a mirroring exercise in pairs – something about improving their teamwork. V and Jungkook instinctively look at each other across the room, but then the teacher starts to pair people up herself and Jungkook looks away embarrassedly.

V gets paired with Bambam and Jungkook feels a fresh wave of nerves rush over him because now he’s definitely going to be paired with someone he doesn’t know. The teacher gestures for him to stand with a boy who looks around his age, dressed in a baggy black t-shirt and black tracksuit bottoms. Jungkook walks over and smiles awkwardly at the stranger.

“Hey, you’re new here, right?” the boy asks with a friendly smile.

Jungkook nods, then gulps.

“I wouldn’t be too nervous,” the boy says kindly, seeming to notice that Jungkook is out of his comfort zone. “Based off last week, it seems like you’ll pick things up pretty quickly. I’m Yugyeom, by the way.”

Ah, so this is the boy Bambam mentioned last week, Jungkook realises. If he’s friends with Bambam then he can’t be too bad. “Jungkook,” he introduces himself shortly.

The teacher suggests that they start running over some of the routines they’ve learnt, mirroring each other’s movements; so Jungkook springs into action and begins the only routine he remembers from last week, before Yugyeom can start dancing to something Jungkook doesn’t know and make everything much harder.

“So, you’re friends with Bambam, huh?” Yugyeom asks as he copies Jungkook’s hand movements.

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods. He laughs when Yugyeom nods with him. “You’re friends with him too, right?”

“Yeah. He was one of the first friends I made when I joined this dance group a couple years ago, and he just kind of stuck. You know, like those labels on your shoes that you can’t peel off no matter how hard you try?”

Jungkook laughs again, already starting to feel comfortable in Yugyeom’s presence, and Yugyeom smiles at him. “So how do you know Bambam?”

Jungkook falters. “Uh, actually it’s a bit awkward. We met when he asked me out on a date, but… things didn’t work out. We thought we’d be better as friends.”

“Oh,” Yugyeom says, clearly surprised. “So you’re…?”

“Gay,” Jungkook answers. “And you?” He then cringes at himself. Jungkook thinks that ‘And you?’ is usually a good way to continue conversations, but he’s also aware that it’s not generally used when discussing people’s sexualities.

Yugyeom doesn’t seem to mind. “I’m pansexual,” he replies.

“Oh. That’s cool. I’ve never met someone pansexual before,” Jungkook responds. Yugyeom raises his eyebrows at him and Jungkook scratches his head awkwardly.

“Can you stop moving unnecessarily?” Yugyeom chuckles as he also reaches his hand up to scratch at his own head.

Jungkook drops his hand embarrassedly. “Sorry. Um – was that a really stupid thing to say?” he asks anxiously. “I didn’t mean it weirdly.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Yugyeom laughs. “It’s nice actually meeting someone who knows what it means. I once had someone ask me whether it meant I was attracted to saucepans. I mean, I know it’s not an overly used term, but is it so hard to just ask ‘what’s pansexuality?’ without jumping to stupid conclusions?”

Jungkook cracks a smile at that. “They probably think they’re being funny. One time, when I told someone I was gay, they asked me if I was coming out as ‘happy’. I had no idea whether they were really stupid or just had a really stupid sense of humour.”

“I’ve never heard that one before,” Yugyeom chortles. “Incredible. But I guess people do the weirdest things when they feel uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Jungkook admits. “I know I make an idiot of myself whenever I feel uncomfortable. Which is a lot, as it happens, so that’s _great_.”

“Really?” Yugyeom asks in surprise. “You don’t seem like the awkward type.”

Jungkook chuckles. “You have no idea.” Just then, his stomach rumbles and Jungkook’s cheeks flush pink. “As if to prove a point…” he mutters.

“Don’t worry about it! I’m always hungry,” Yugyeom grins. “By the way, do you know if Bambam’s up for getting pizza again tonight? I mean, I’m having dinner at home, but I could do with a snack beforehand.”

Jungkook laughs. “Actually, he’s already getting pizza with me. But I mean, you’re welcome to join, if you want.” It might be nice to get to know some more people from the dance group, especially if Jungkook is thinking about attending regularly.

“Really? I wouldn’t be third-wheeling?” Yugyeom asks jokily.

“Of course not. If anything, that’ll probably be me,” Jungkook admits.

“Nah, Bambam’s always been good at including everyone,” Yugyeom dismisses with a kind smile. “Thanks for the invite – I might just take you up on it.”

When the dance class comes to an end, Jungkook walks over to Bambam and tells him that Yugyeom may be joining them tonight. “That’s okay with you, isn’t it?” Jungkook asks worriedly. “I kind of invited him without asking you. I just figured you’re friends so it would be fine.”

“Yeah, it’s cool, don’t freak out,” Bambam laughs. “He’s round my house practically all the time, anyway. I was going to invite him, but then I figured you don’t know each other so it might be awkward. But if you’re fine with it, that’s great! I think you guys will get along well.”

“Good,” Jungkook smiles, breathing out a sigh of relief. His phone then buzzes in his pocket and Jungkook gets it out to see a new text from Taehyung.

**I’m leaving now. See you soon Kookie x**

Jungkook smiles bashfully at his phone before turning his attention towards the door. Taehyung is stood there and when he catches Jungkook’s eye, he smiles and waves before heading outside. Jungkook turns back to his phone and types out a reply.

**Safe trip back :) x**

When Jungkook looks back up, Bambam is staring at him with an amused expression on his face.

“What?” Jungkook frowns.

“Nothing,” Bambam laughs. “Just glad to see your relationship hasn’t crashed and burned yet.”

Jungkook scowls. “It’s only been a week.”

“Exactly. A quarter of your time is already up,” Bambam shrugs.

Jungkook looks at him indignantly. “It’s not like that with us.”

Bambam smiles. “I’m only teasing you. I’m glad you’re happy. Hey, Yugyeom! You joining us?” he calls across the room.

“Yeah, just let me get my water and my jacket,” Yugyeom calls back.

When they reach Bambam’s house and walk inside, Yugyeom immediately slumps onto one of the sofas and puts his feet up, clearly comfortable enough in Bambam’s house to treat it like his own. Jungkook is a bit more hesitant, stepping inside carefully and wiping his shoes on the mat.

“Don’t be scared,” Bambam laughs at him. That’s one thing about Bambam that Jungkook is still getting used to; Bambam’s tendency to be flippant and mocking whenever Jungkook feels uncomfortable. But it’s also good, in a way, because it forces him to get out of his comfort zone.

“Should I take my shoes off?” he asks awkwardly.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Bambam answers as he slaps Yugyeom’s legs, making him lift them up out of the way. Bambam sits down and Yugyeom drops his legs back down into Bambam’s lap, Bambam accepting it without question. It looks like maybe that’s their typical lounging position.

They both look up questioningly at Jungkook, who’s stood in the corner of the room watching them wordlessly.

“You gonna sit?” Bambam asks, pointing at the small space next to him at the end of the sofa.

“Um…” Jungkook replies hesitantly, because if he sits there then Yugyeom’s feet will be poking him and he’s not sure he’s comfortable with that. “Sure, I’ll sit,” he says after thinking it through for a second. He walks over to the sofa and grabs one of the cushions, before placing it on the floor and sitting on top of it.

Yugyeom raises his eyebrows at Jungkook’s behaviour, but Bambam turns to Yugyeom and explains, “It takes him a bit to warm up to new people.”

Jungkook blushes, embarrassed by the comment. He gets out his phone and hides his face in it, starting to feel a bit out of place as Bambam and Yugyeom chat to each other about the other people at dance – people that Jungkook doesn’t know and has nothing to say about.

**I feel uncomfortable**

Taehyung texts back almost straight away.

**what else is new**

Jungkook almost rolls his eyes.

**thanks**

**haha what’s up?**

**idk**

**I invited Yugyeom here cause he seems nice and he’s friends with bambam but now they’re talking about stuff I’m not involved in and idk it’s just awkward**

Jungkook vaguely registers Yugyeom and Bambam discussing whether Dami and Kino are ever going to start dating as he stares at his phone, awaiting a reply.

**yeah but everything with you is awkward**

Jungkook practically groans at his phone.

**ffs tae I need some help here?**

His phone dings again, but Jungkook is giving up on receiving any helpful advice.

**just talk to them**

Jungkook can picture Taehyung’s shrug as he suggests it, as if talking to other humans without making a complete idiot out of himself is an easy thing for Jungkook to do.

**and say what?**

**idk ask them when you’re getting the pizza or something**

Well, there’s something Jungkook can use.

“Guys,” he says, interrupting Bambam’s sentence about Youngjae’s Halloween party. They both turn to look at him, interested in what he has to say, and Jungkook almost wishes he hadn’t attracted their attention. “Uh. I just wondered when we’re getting the pizza?”

“Oh, good thinking!” Bambam agrees enthusiastically, even though Jungkook’s pretty sure he was asking a question. But okay.

“Let’s order it now. I’m starving,” Yugyeom announces and Jungkook smiles.

“You would get along well with my friend Jin,” Jungkook comments offhandedly.

“Why?” Yugyeom asks interestedly.

“Oh. Just that you both talk about food a lot.” He frowns at himself. Is that rude of him to say?

“That’s great in theory, but when you have to fight over who gets the last slice of pizza, things can get messy,” Yugyeom points out.

Jungkook breathes a sigh of relief and wills himself to relax a little bit. Bambam and Yugyeom are clearly very laidback and Jungkook needs to stop worrying that he’s going to say something out of line or offend someone. He makes an effort to smile at them both and asks, “What toppings are we getting?”

They set up a film while they’re waiting for their pizzas to arrive – two pepperoni and one meat feast – and Jungkook finally settles onto the sofa with Yugyeom and Bambam. (Yugyeom has moved into an ordinary sitting position by this point, so Jungkook is no longer at risk of unwanted physical contact.)

By the time Jungkook’s phone dings with another text from Taehyung, their pizza is almost all gone and they’re a good hour into Skyfall. (Yugyeom insists that they should make it their mission to watch all the James Bond films by the end of the year, so they’ve already decided on the next few months’ worth of Tuesday night films.)

**how’s it going?**

Jungkook smiles at the screen.

**good. we got food**

**see? I said it before and I’ll say it again, food solves everything**

Jungkook chuckles fondly.

**indeed, you are all knowing**

Jungkook stares at his phone, smiling stupidly until another message pops up.

**you know it ;))**

“Who you texting?” Bambam asks, a knowing glint in his eye.

“No one,” Jungkook says, his expression immediately turning grouchy. Bambam knows he can’t discuss it with Yugyeom in the room.

“Sure,” Bambam laughs and Jungkook glares at him.

Yugyeom notices Bambam’s teasing smile and he glances at Jungkook questioningly. “Is it your boyfriend or something?” he asks curiously.

“Uh – no. I’m. I don’t have, uh, anyone like that,” Jungkook stutters, feeling uncomfortable at having to lie.

Yugyeom frowns, wondering why Jungkook suddenly seems so awkward. “Wait, you haven’t just broken up with someone, have you? Cause it would be just like me to ask something like that at the worst possible time,” he says worriedly.

“No, it’s fine. There haven’t been any break ups.” Jungkook smiles self-consciously.

“Why do you sound so upset then?” Yugyeom asks, confused.

“I, um,” Jungkook falters. “I just… don’t like being alone.” He inwardly cringes as soon as the words are out of his mouth, because now he sounds a little desperate.

Yugyeom smiles encouragingly. “I’m sure you’ll find someone soon enough.”

“Thanks,” Jungkook mutters bitterly. There goes the good impression he felt he was making. Jungkook sighs and turns back to his phone.

**I’ve got to go, bambam’s making fun of me**

His phone pings in his hands hardly two seconds after the text is sent and Yugyeom groans. “Would you turn that off? I’m actually trying to watch this.”

“Sorry,” Jungkook apologises embarrassedly before checking to see what Taehyung has replied with.

**lol ok, hope you have fun. can’t wait for Thursday! x**

Jungkook smiles.

**me too, we’re meeting at the bus stop, right? x**

**yep! x**

“Seriously, Jungkook,” Yugyeom complains.

“Okay, I’m turning it off!” Jungkook acquiesces, watching his phone screen go blank and holding it up for Yugyeom to see before he places it face down on the coffee table.

“Thank you,” Yugyeom sighs. “You gonna concentrate on James Bond now?”

“He has my undivided attention,” Jungkook nods. He leans back and allows his body to sink further into the sofa.

Once the film is over, the three of them chat for a while, Bambam and Yugyeom telling Jungkook stupid stories about the other dance crew members and which people Jungkook is likely to get on best with. Eventually Yugyeom mentions how it’s getting late and that he has homework for the next day – so Jungkook takes this as his cue to leave as well. But he leaves Bambam’s house with the agreement that they’ll have another pizza night next Tuesday, the three of them settling on some sort of routine, and Jungkook finds that he’s already looking forward to it.

 

***

 

Taehyung and Jungkook meet each other that Thursday, as planned, and go to the park near Taehyung’s house to walk their dogs. Surprisingly enough, Soonshim and Gureum make fast friends, and Taehyung jokes that the dynamic between the dogs is the same as between him and Jungkook: Soonshim is eager to play and run around manically, whereas Gureum is a little more reserved at first but quickly learns to let go and feed off Soonshim’s energy. Jungkook laughs, before promising that they’ll all have to go on another walk together soon.

Over the next week or so, they talk to each other as much as possible; the main form of communication being the hour-long phone conversations when Taehyung is on the bus back home and wants some company. Of course, he would usually spend the bus journey listening to music or making a half-hearted attempt at his homework, but Jungkook doesn’t need to know that Taehyung’s cravings are more for Jungkook himself than for the idle conversation. But Taehyung has a feeling that Jungkook already knows, anyway.

They see each other on Tuesday at dance, which is nice because they can act like friends, but they still have to hide their budding romance and it’s slightly exhausting. (When Taehyung texts Jungkook that evening, telling him how hot Jungkook looks when he’s dancing and that he can’t wait to kiss him again, Jungkook most definitely does not scare his friends by choking on his pizza when he reads the notification on his phone. Definitely not.)

The fact that J-Hope is spending more time with his girlfriend helps, though, because although Taehyung misses hanging out with his best friend, it means that when J-Hope invariably cancels their plans to drink together and catch up on Friday night, Taehyung has the opportunity to invite himself round Jungkook’s house. He and the T-Birds have plans to go round J-Hope’s house after school, but Taehyung assures Jungkook that he and J-Hope were planning to chuck the others out at 5, so he can probably get to Jungkook’s by 5:30.

They agree to do some more work on Jungkook’s singing, because his performance for Music is coming up in a couple of weeks and Jungkook feels thoroughly unprepared. But really, they’re just looking forward to properly seeing each other again.

 

***

 

When the final lesson ends on Friday afternoon, Rosé walks out of History at the same time as Jisoo comes out of Geography. Even though their classrooms are in the same hallway, Jisoo is too focused on the girl in front of her to notice Rosé’s presence, so in true Rosé fashion, she decides to cause a scene to make Jisoo notice her.

“Stop checking out that girl and come talk to me,” Rosé calls out.

Jisoo looks up at the sound of Rosé’s voice, grins at her and waves excitedly. (She has become extremely used to Rosé’s comments in their several years of friendship and she has learned to ignore any jibes about her sexuality, thereby saving both of them the valuable time and energy they would otherwise spend arguing over it.)

Rosé waits for her to catch up and Jisoo links arms with her as they begin to walk out of school.

“It’s been ages, Ro, where have you been?” Jisoo says dramatically.

“I’ve been busy,” Rosé shrugs.

“Sure, but busy with who?” she prompts, a cheeky grin on her face.

“Fine, whatever. I’ve been spending time with my boyfriend, is that okay?” she snaps.

Jisoo giggles. “You’re too easy to wind up. Things are going well then?”

“Yeah,” she smiles. “Really well, actually.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, but you can’t desert your best friends just because you’re in a relationship. That’s not fair,” Jisoo pouts.

Rosé shrugs again. “I’m sure you guys can cope without me.”

Jisoo pauses thoughtfully. “Jungkook definitely seems happier without you there, come to think of it.”

Rosé frowns as she thinks through the options. “Well, we can’t have that,” she acknowledges. “I’ll spend at least two lunches a week with you, okay?”

Jisoo chuckles. “What is it that you have against Jungkook?”

Rosé hums contemplatively. “I don’t know, he’s just annoying. He’s been hanging out with us for ages and we _still_ haven’t ruined his innocence – I’m starting to think it’s hopeless trying.”

Jisoo grins. “Now, now, don’t give up yet. It’s only been a couple of months. And really,” she adds gently, “try and give him a chance. He’s a good guy – and I know you don’t like that in people, but just make an effort? I know Jimin especially would appreciate it.”

Rosé sighs. “Yeah, okay. I’ll give it a go. I’ll text you later, Chi Chu – I’m meeting J-Hope after school.” She walks away and heads over to the small cluster of T-Birds (currently only LE, Hani and Suga are stood there) without sparing Jisoo a second glance.

“I can’t believe you’re deserting me _again_!” Jisoo wails.

“Get over it!” Rosé shouts over her shoulder with a bright grin.

Rosé reaches the T-Birds and LE raises her eyebrows. “What are you doing here?” LE asks, sounding somewhat disappointed.

“J-Hope invited me,” Rosé says defiantly.

“Please say you don’t mean you’re coming to his house tonight,” Hani groans.

“Shut up, I don’t like you either,” Rosé huffs. “But J-Hope asked me to come and I want to see how the truck’s getting on, so you’re not getting rid of me.”

Just then, V appears and stops just short of Rosé. “Please tell me you’re not joining us tonight,” he says, his voice already sounding defeated. It’s not that he’s trying to be rude; it’s just that he quite enjoys the company of his fellow T-Birds and Rosé tends to bring out the more short-tempered sides to the girls, not to mention the snide remarks Rosé continuously makes about V himself. There was a time, shortly after their breakup, where V hoped that Rosé would cool off and eventually learn to be his friend again – but after months of angry comments and argumentative behaviour, V has given up hope.

“That’s what I said!” Hani grins excitedly. “We’re so in sync.”

“I’m not here for you,” Rosé points out grouchily to V, as if it weren’t already obvious.

J-Hope turns up and kisses Rosé on the cheek. “Are we all ready to go?”

“Yep. All of us,” LE sighs. “Including the extra tagging along.”

“She has just as much right to be here as any of you,” J-Hope points out as they begin walking. He wraps an arm protectively around Rosé’s waist, perhaps a conciliatory gesture for his friends being so impolite, and Rosé leans in close to him as they walk.

“Aren’t you seeing her tonight, anyway?” V asks curiously.

“Why are you talking about me like I’m not here?” Rosé huffs, feeling aggravated by V’s rudeness. (She refuses to acknowledge that she’s just as bad.)

J-Hope smiles at V. “We’re meeting for dinner, but that’s not till 7, so I said she could come and help out with the truck after school before she goes home to get ready.”

“Please,” Hani snorts. “Don’t tell me she’s actually going to _help._ That would completely contradict her character. And if she’s not helping then there’s no point in her being here,” she concludes decisively.

J-Hope raises his eyebrows. “You hardly ever help, Hani. So by that logic, there’s not much point in you being here either.”

Hani looks down at the ground sadly and V puts his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t mind him; he’s just being protective,” V consoles.

“He’s being _mean_ ,” Hani complains.

“So are you,” Suga chuckles. “Give her a break – look how happy she makes J-Hope. That’s got to count for something, at least.”

And it’s true. Not that it’s unusual for someone like him, but J-Hope has hardly stopped smiling since he saw Rosé at the end of school. In fact, he barely ever stops smiling whenever he and Rosé are together. (The PDA is another matter, of course, but in times like these, they make a pretty cute couple.)

The T-Birds make a good attempt at following Suga’s instructions for a while, but unfortunately, the fixing of the truck progresses pretty slowly when one of the main workers is too busy making out with his girlfriend to help with anything. Hani, LE, Suga and V all put up with it for as long as they can, until Suga snaps and tells Rosé that kissing is very inappropriate in the workplace.

Rosé raises her eyebrows. “It’s a _garage_. I wouldn’t call that a workplace.”

“I work in mechanics. The only workplaces I know are garages,” Suga points out.

When Rosé rolls her eyes, Suga’s eyes narrow.

“Okay, here’s the thing. I appreciate how happy you make J-Hope, but we’re trying to work here so I’d appreciate it _more_ if you left. _Thanks_ ,” he says curtly, trying his best to remain civil.

“Fair enough,” Rosé acknowledges calmly, to everybody’s surprise. “See you tonight,” she smiles at J-Hope before turning to the others. “Before I forget, Jin wanted me to tell you guys that he’s planning a get-together in December – just a casual birthday slash early Christmas thing. Nothing’s arranged yet but keep an eye out; make sure you’re free.” She smiles at them all before being handed her Pink Lady jacket by her boyfriend and strutting off down the street.

Hani frowns. “If she wanted to tell us before she forgot, why did she only mention Jin’s party when she was leaving?”

Suga smirks. “She was probably too distracted before by other things. Anyway, now that’s done, can we actually work on this piece of junk?”

LE shrugs. “I got nothing else to do. Guys?”

J-Hope and Hani nod, so V nods as well and tries not to worry too much about the time. He’s still got a little while before he’s supposed to be meeting Jungkook.

 

***

 

“Hey, Kookie,” Taehyung says softly when Jungkook opens the door at 5:45pm.

Jungkook smiles widely, gesturing for Taehyung to come inside.

“Sorry I’m late,” Taehyung apologises as he walks inside and takes off his T-Bird jacket, leaving it on the back of the kitchen chair. “I got held up at J-Hope’s; the others all wanted to carry on fixing up the truck and I didn’t know how to tell them I had somewhere better to be.”

“I know; I got your text,” Jungkook chuckles. He closes the front door and looks Taehyung up and down appraisingly. “You look good.”

“I look sweaty and gross,” Taehyung laughs.

“You look sweaty and _hot_ ,” Jungkook corrects with a cheeky grin.

“I’m not sure you’ve ever called me that before,” Taehyung smiles delightedly. “What’s got you so confident?”

But Jungkook’s smile is nowhere to be seen. “Mum?” he calls out anxiously into the house and Taehyung freezes.

“You don’t know if she’s here?” he asks worriedly.

“I’ve been upstairs doing homework with music on,” Jungkook explains. “She could’ve got home and not wanted to disturb me – but she would have responded so I think we’re in luck. She must still be at her interview.”

“Interview?” Taehyung questions, following Jungkook as he leads the way through the house and up the stairs.

“Yeah, she’s looking for a job at the moment,” Jungkook responds. “She’s got some part-time work on and off, but it’s not really enough, so she’s searching for something better.”

“What was wrong with the job she had before?” Taehyung asks in confusion, remembering how Jungkook talked over summer about how much his mum loved her job.

They reach Jungkook’s door and Jungkook smiles guiltily. “She had to give it up when we moved here. It was okay for dad because he commutes to London anyway, but mum worked locally and it was too much of a drive to go back and forth each day.” He sighs, pushing open his bedroom door and walking in. “It’s my fault.”

Taehyung frowns. “It’s not your fault,” he insists as he follows Jungkook inside and sits down at his desk chair.

“It is,” Jungkook insists adamantly, hopping up onto the bed. “If I hadn’t made us move back here, she could’ve stayed where she was. She gave up a lot for me.”

Taehyung smiles consolingly. “Yeah, she did; so maybe you should take that as a positive. She cares enough about you to stop doing something she loves, just to make you happier. That’s nice.”

Jungkook frowns thoughtfully. “I suppose.”

“Is your dad not here either?” Taehyung asks, noting how quiet the house sounds.

“He won’t be back till late,” Jungkook answers. “Right. Let’s talk Music.”

“Okay!” Taehyung grins. It feels oddly refreshing to be in a bedroom alone with someone, safe in the knowledge that the situation is completely innocent. “What have you been thinking for your piece?” Taehyung asks excitedly. “In my opinion, your voice suits, like, every song –”

“Tae,” Jungkook protests with a laugh.

“- so it’s just up to you to choose which one you like the most.”

“There’s actually a set criteria of how it’s marked. If I choose a song with a bigger range that’s more technically difficult, then I have a higher chance of getting a good grade,” Jungkook explains.

“Okay, do that then!” Taehyung grins.

Jungkook chuckles. “You may have to help me with that. I have a lot of options and I don’t really know how to choose between them.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Taehyung says happily. “What have you got?”

Jungkook walks over to his desk and gestures to a piece of paper on which he scribbled down some ideas earlier. Taehyung swivels the desk chair round so he can see, and he follows Jungkook’s finger down the list of songs.

Taehyung picks up the paper decisively and sits down cross-legged on Jungkook’s bed, gesturing for Jungkook to sit down opposite him. They sit like this for a while, working through the list of songs methodically as Jungkook sings excerpts from each piece at Taehyung’s request.

Eventually, they settle on Lost Stars by Adam Levine, thinking that it shows enough dynamic range and technical vocal ability for it to be a good choice. “It’s only a mock, but if it’s good enough then they could use it as an actual submission,” Jungkook explains.

“And… are you happy with your decision?” Taehyung asks carefully.

“Yeah, I am,” Jungkook nods. He then lets out a sigh of relief, circling the name ‘Lost Stars’ with a pen from his bedside table and putting the list down. “Thank God that’s over.”

“Do you want to practise it now?” Taehyung questions.

“I really don’t,” Jungkook admits. “I’m tired. I just want to relax now.”

“Good,” Taehyung grins, shifting closer to him on the bed and cupping Jungkook’s jaw with his hand. “Hi,” he murmurs gently, his eyes flitting down to Jungkook’s lips and back up again.

“Hi,” Jungkook smiles, closing his eyes as he presses their lips together.

Taehyung kisses him back softly, his hands coming up to Jungkook’s shoulders and then wrapping around his neck, pulling him in closer. Something about being with Jungkook like this makes him feel safe; makes him feel wanted. Jungkook opens his mouth and deepens the kiss, his hands coming to rest on Taehyung’s waist.

They pull away after a minute, resting their foreheads together and breathing the same air. “It’s been too long since we last kissed,” Taehyung complains weakly. “I can’t believe we had to wait a whole _week_.”

Jungkook laughs breathily. “Some people say waiting makes things better. You know, building up the anticipation and that.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Those people clearly haven’t had to wait for anything important.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “Is kissing me really that important?”

“Obviously,” Taehyung smirks. “Let me prove it to,” he continues, his voice low and Jungkook’s heartbeat quickens as Taehyung leans in and kisses him again, more passionately this time. Jungkook kisses back just as fervently, in the hope that a single kiss can convey to Taehyung everything he’s feeling; all the adoration and happiness and gratefulness he feels at being able to have someone like Taehyung in his life. His arms tighten around Taehyung’s waist, clutching at the back of his shirt and pulling him even closer, when a sudden loud voice knocks them both out of the moment.

“Downstairs, both of you, now.”

Taehyung looks up in alarm to see Jungkook’s mother stood in the doorway, looking at them sternly. “Mrs Jeon,” he says, flustered. “I was just –”

“Kissing my son? Yes, I can see that,” she responds curtly. “Now please move away from him and go downstairs into the living room. I want both of you where I can see you.”

Taehyung gulps and obediently stands up, before looking at Jungkook nervously, who looks back with wide eyes.

Mrs Jeon gestures for Taehyung to move, so he hurries down the stairs and into the living room, perching on the edge of the sofa with Jungkook taking a seat next to him.

“I didn’t hear you get home,” Jungkook says quietly.

“Care to explain what I just walked in on?” his mother says pointedly.

Jungkook sighs. “It was just a kiss, mum.”

“If I had any idea what you two were doing, do you think I would have let you sit alone together in your bedroom?” she scolds.

“Don’t freak out,” Jungkook groans. “We were just kissing.”

Mrs Jeon raises her eyebrows. “So we’ve gone from ‘a kiss’ to ‘kissing’. Interesting.”

“What’s the big deal?” Jungkook protests. “I’m _sixteen_.”

“You’re a child, Jungkook,” she snaps. “Now, we won’t have any problems as long as you both stay where I can see you,” she says decisively.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, feeling annoyed but also vaguely amused at his mother’s overprotectiveness, but then he looks at Taehyung to gauge his reaction and Jungkook immediately becomes worried. Taehyung is staring straight ahead of him at the wall, his eyes vulnerable and scared and unseeing, and Jungkook turns back to his mother urgently.

“Can you give us a minute?” he asks.

“Did you not hear anything I just said?” Jungkook’s mother responds accusatorily, but then Jungkook nods his head in Taehyung’s direction and she seems to understand what he’s saying. “I’ll go put on the kettle,” she says kindly before leaving the room.

“Tae,” Jungkook says carefully, touching his arm to get his attention. “You okay?”

“I feel weird,” Taehyung admits, turning to face Jungkook apprehensively. “Did she just… did she just find out about us?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook smiles sympathetically. He takes Taehyung’s hand in his and squeezes it gently.

“Do you think she’s okay with it?” Taehyung asks nervously. “I mean, she seems kind of mad.”

“She just wants to protect me,” Jungkook says gently. He presses a kiss to Taehyung’s temple and Taehyung visibly relaxes. “But she already knows you, and likes you, so that’s a plus.”

“She _knows_ ,” Taehyung says quietly and Jungkook gulps.

“She does,” he agrees carefully. “I’ll talk to her and make sure she doesn’t say anything to anyone about it.”

“How can you be sure she’ll agree?” Taehyung frowns.

Jungkook smiles consolingly. “After what happened to me, I think she’ll understand why it’s important she keeps quiet,” he says softly.

“Thanks, Kookie,” he smiles, but then his smile fades just as quickly as it appeared. “Shit, sorry. I keep forgetting you don’t like being called that.”

“What do you mean?” Jungkook frowns, confused.

“You don’t remember?” Taehyung asks in surprise. “You said so at Jimin’s. You kind of had a freak out about it.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says in realisation. “That’s not – I mean. It’s different when you say it.” He blushes at his own words and Taehyung’s eyes light up happily.

“That’s adorable, Kookie,” he teases.

“Shut up, Tae,” Jungkook grumbles.

Taehyung smiles at him, his expression softening. “For what it’s worth, I like when you call me ‘Tae’ as well. My younger cousins call me ‘Taetae’ but nobody else calls me just ‘Tae’. It’s cute.”

Jungkook blushes again. “Okay.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes fondly. “You really know how to end a conversation, don’t you?”

Jungkook looks down at the floor. “It’s not deliberate.”

“I know,” Taehyung chuckles. He touches Jungkook’s jaw, guiding his face back up to look at Taehyung’s. “It’s cute, though.”

“Stop calling everything cute,” Jungkook grumbles.

“I can’t help it – you’re too cute, Kookie –”

Taehyung’s sentence is cut off by Jungkook’s lips, pressing against his softly as Jungkook’s hands reach round Taehyung’s neck and his fingers play absently with Taehyung’s hair.

Jungkook pulls away after a couple of seconds and Taehyung grins, the perfect box-shaped grin that Jungkook hasn’t seen nearly as much of since they went back to school. Jungkook hopes that now they’re spending more time together, he’ll be able to see that smile more often.

“What was that for?” Taehyung asks.

“I was just shutting you up,” Jungkook shrugs, trying to hide his blush. He often initiates their kisses, but he isn’t usually so forward about it.

“Ah,” Taehyung hums. “I should talk more often,” he says contemplatively and Jungkook hits Taehyung’s arm.

“That wasn’t the point,” Jungkook frowns.

“Then you shouldn’t have rewarded me,” Taehyung grins cheekily, before pressing a quick kiss to Jungkook’s temple. He lingers, his breath tickling Jungkook’s ear before he kisses the spot just below Jungkook’s earlobe. “It’s okay; I can’t resist you either,” he whispers and Jungkook stands up from his seat, blushing furiously.

“Mum, how’s the tea coming along?” he calls into the kitchen, his voice strained.

“Ready whenever you want it, honey,” she responds.

Taehyung laughs. “Do you want me to stop?” His voice is light and teasing, as if he didn’t sound sexy and suggestive only a few seconds ago. Jungkook doesn’t understand how Taehyung can switch moods so easily.

“Uh, I think – I mean, yeah. Let’s – um, let’s sit. In the kitchen. And… have tea,” Jungkook stutters, frantically trying to get out his thoughts even when his brain is failing him. He hopes that his face doesn’t look as red as it feels; it would only add to the embarrassment.

“Okay,” Taehyung smiles, mercifully not mentioning how flustered Jungkook seems. He stands up from the sofa and holds out his hand, linking his fingers with Jungkook’s. “Your mum isn’t going to interrogate me, right?” Taehyung asks anxiously. Honestly, he’s feeling more than a little nervous. Jungkook was the first person to know he was gay, Bambam found out next as a result of Taehyung’s jealousy and impulsiveness and Taehyung isn’t sure how he feels about the third person to know being Jungkook’s mother. It’s very strange.

“Tae, don’t worry,” Jungkook says, squeezing Taehyung’s hand. “She doesn’t know you that well yet, but once she does she’s going to love you. It’s impossible not to.”

He leads Taehyung into the kitchen and Taehyung tries not to think about the implications of Jungkook’s words. Jungkook doesn’t seem to notice that he even said anything out of the ordinary, so Taehyung tries to let it go as well as he pleads his heartbeat to slow down. But now the idea is planted and Taehyung finds that he doesn’t _want_ to let it go, because being with Jungkook just feels so _right_.

Jungkook squeezes Taehyung’s hand again, somehow in tune to Taehyung’s nerves even if he misunderstands what’s causing them. It makes Taehyung’s head spin, because even when he feels guarded, something about Jungkook manages to break down that barrier and get through to Taehyung’s emotions. It’s still something that Taehyung is getting used to, but he thinks he likes how well Jungkook can read him; like somebody’s really paying attention instead of just seeing what they’re supposed to.

It’s not there yet – it’s too soon – but Taehyung can’t shake the feeling that Jungkook is definitely someone he could fall in love with.


	12. stars are shining bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook expresses his wishes to look at the stars with Taehyung; meanwhile J-Hope decides to be V’s wingman and hook him up with someone new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...enter Jennie!! wooo
> 
> random sidenote: I just watched Run BTS ep 19 and the bowling istg I'm laughing so hard
> 
> anyway on with the chapter! enjoy :D

On Saturday morning, Taehyung is almost ready to leave; he’s just touching up his eyeliner when J-Hope texts him to cancel their plans. It’s something to do with Rosé – Taehyung doesn’t pay attention to the explanation – but he’s already got ready so Taehyung figures he might as well head into town and see who’s around.

Once he’s sat on the bus, he gets out his phone and dials Jungkook’s number. Who knows, maybe Jungkook is free today as well and they can spend some more time together.

The phone rings, rings some more, and then goes through to voicemail.

Taehyung frowns. That’s strange; Jungkook never usually ignores his calls. He calls the number again, and Jungkook picks up after a couple of rings.

“Sorry Junghwa, I can’t really talk right now. Jimin’s here,” Jungkooks voice says nonchalantly on the other end of the line.

Taehyung bites his lip. Jungkook can’t talk freely to him when Jimin’s there. He should’ve texted.

“Is it something urgent, or…?” Jungkook asks.

Taehyung smiles, faintly amused by the situation. “No. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Oh,” Jungkook says, his voice quiet.

“Is something wrong?” he hears another voice ask in the background. That must be Jimin.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Jungkook reassures him.

“I’m around today, so if you have some time, let me know,” Taehyung says softly. He doesn’t know what it is, but something about Jungkook makes Taehyung want to tread carefully – to treat him gently and with respect. He knows Jungkook can handle himself, but Taehyung still feels an urge to protect him.

“I’ll text you later,” Jungkook promises.

“I look forward to it,” Taehyung smiles.

“Bye,” Jungkook says softly before hanging up.

“Everything okay?” Jimin asks nervously. “I can go, if you want.”

“No, everything’s fine,” Jungkook laughs. “I just wasn’t expecting her to call, that’s all. She just wanted to catch up. It’s been a while.” At least that part isn’t a lie – it’s been a couple of weeks since Jungkook has spoken to Junghwa and he makes a mental note to text her tonight and see how she’s doing.

Jimin stays at Jungkook’s house all day, the two of them chatting about random things as they work methodically through their homework.

Jungkook calls Taehyung once he’s in bed, and they chat to each other for an hour or so, talking about everything from school projects to Taehyung’s shopping trip with Hani this afternoon to whether they can see the same stars when they look up at the sky, until Jungkook’s too tired to hold the conversation any longer. When he starts to mumble incoherently about wanting to watch the stars together some day, Taehyung promises ‘soon’ before hanging up the phone. That night, they both fall asleep smiling.

 

***

 

V and J-Hope reschedule their meet-up for Monday after school. They go to the café, order chips and ice cream (“Why the fuck would you mix those together?” J-Hope asks disdainfully as V dips a chip in the chocolate ice cream) and chat about nothing in particular. As expected, J-Hope brings up Rosé continually, and after the third time V can’t hold in his laughter anymore.

“What’s funny?” J-Hope asks around a mouthful of chips.

“Whatever we’re talking about, you manage to keep bringing up Rosé like she’s relevant to the conversation,” V smirks. He picks up another chip and dips it in the ice cream – and a massive scowl appears on J-Hope’s face.

“I swear, if you contaminate any of that ice cream with potato I will literally kill you,” he says seriously.

“Sure,” V snorts.

“Talking of Rosé, though, sorry for blowing you off on Saturday,” J-Hope says.

“It’s cool, she needed you,” V shrugs.

“Yeah, but I feel kind of bad about ditching you and the others all the time to hang out with her,” he sighs.

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” V smiles. “You guys are good together. It’s nice seeing you happy.”

J-Hope laughs. “Thanks.”

Their waitress arrives at the table, checking that everything’s okay, and J-Hope politely asks for the bill. They’re still eating, but J-Hope is in a rush to get home so that he can talk to Rosé again on the phone without V making fun of him. (Call him infatuated; he doesn’t care – because it’s true and J-Hope will be the first to admit it.)

“You’re still my best mate, though,” J-Hope continues. “I don’t want us to stop hanging out like this.”

“That’s never going to happen,” V chuckles. “You worry too much. You’ve got a girlfriend – you have to spend time with her. It’s, like, the rules.”

“It’s more that I want to, but okay,” J-Hope responds, a confused smile playing at his lips. “I forgot you had such a skewed view of relationships. Anyway, talking of which – I was thinking about asking you something.”

“Shoot,” V says, popping another chip into his mouth.

“I know a few girls who said they’re interested in you – want me to set you up?” J-Hope asks.

V takes the time to swallow his chip while he thinks of a reason to say no. “I don’t need your help, J-Hope,” he says decisively.

“I know, but I just feel bad. You haven’t dated anyone in a while and you’ve hardly hooked up with people lately either, which is really odd for you. I’m kind of worried.”

“You don’t need to worry,” V scoffs, trying to act a lot more confident than he feels. J-Hope _noticed_ that? If his best friend is concerned about his behaviour, V really isn’t acting normal as convincingly as he thought.

J-Hope smiles at him sympathetically, mistaking V’s blatant dismissal of the suggestion for embarrassment. “And _you_ don’t need to pretend you’re fine when I know you’re not.”

That sentence almost makes V want to snap at him – for once in my life, I’m _actually_ fine, and only _now_ do you notice that something’s wrong? V sucks in a sharp breath and tries to keep his cool.

“Come on, V,” J-Hope grins, trying to coax his friend into agreeing. “You don’t have to get into a relationship with her, or anything. Just go out for an evening, have fun.”

V rolls his eyes. “I don’t need you to set me up, J-Hope. I can get dates on my own.”

At that point, their waitress comes back to the table, placing the bill in front of V, with a phone number scrawled across the bottom. “Call me,” she says to V with a sultry smile, before walking away to serve someone else.

V stares at the bill incredulously and J-Hope cackles at his shocked expression. “You’re right,” J-Hope wheezes. “I stand corrected. You _can_ get dates on your own. _Nice_ one, mate.”

V sighs. “I don’t even know her name. This is stupid.”

“You never remember their names, anyway,” J-Hope shrugs, before peering at the bill curiously. “It says right here ‘your server today is Jennie’.” He looks at V triumphantly. “Go on, put her number in your phone!” he urges.

“Fine.” V adds Jennie to his contacts, typing in a ‘2’ where she wrote a ‘5’, but J-Hope points out the mistake and makes him change it.

After he finishes adding the number to his phone, V makes an effort to smile politely at Jennie when she comes to collect their money. She winks at him as they leave and, once J-Hope is out of sight, V practically books it to the bus stop.

“Jungkook,” he says breathlessly when Jungkook picks up the phone. “We have a problem.”

Once Taehyung finishes explaining the situation with J-Hope and describing how Jennie managed to show up at the worst possible time, Jungkook sighs resignedly. “Look, don’t worry too much. I guess you did everything you could.”

“He said he’s worried about me, Kookie,” Taehyung says sadly. “He says he can tell I’m not acting like myself and that he knows I haven’t been out with many girls lately.” He groans to himself. “Do you know what the worst bit is? The reason I don’t seem like myself is because I’m actually _happy_. And then _this_ has to happen and ruin it all.”

 Jungkook chuckles. “You’re so dramatic. As you said, hopefully he’ll forget about it. For now let’s just pray that J-Hope gets too caught up in his own relationship to remember to force you into one.” He pauses, considering the options. “But if you do have to go out with her – if you can’t get out of it – just make it soon, okay? And then it will be over.”

Taehyung hums contemplatively. “I can always pretend afterwards that something really bad happened and it’s made me go off dating for a while.”

Jungkook snorts. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. If he’s concerned _now_ , telling him you suddenly hate dating altogether probably isn’t the best way to go about it.” He pauses thoughtfully. “Maybe you could change the number in your phone and then pretend that you wrote it down wrong?”

“No, I thought of that already,” Taehyung says sadly. “But J-Hope saw and made me change it.”

Jungkook sighs defeatedly. “Okay. Thanks for telling me, anyway.”

“Of course,” Taehyung responds softly. “So anyway, that’s me done. How are you?”

“A bit annoyed that you’re going on a date with someone else,” Jungkook confesses with a breathy chuckle. “But apart from that, pretty good. I’m looking forward to dance tomorrow.”

“Because of me?” Taehyung asks cheekily.

Jungkook laughs. “No, you idiot. I barely even talk to you when we go. But I’m making an effort to speak to everyone else, actually, and I think it’s paying off. You know Yugyeom invited me on a trip to London on Saturday?”

“Wait, really?” Taehyung asks in surprise.

“Yeah, did I not mention it?” Jungkook frowns. “A lot of the dance crew is going and now I’m included. It’s exciting.”

“That’s really great, Kookie,” Taehyung agrees. “I’m happy for you.”

“Me too,” Jungkook smiles. “On another note, though, I have a lot of homework to get through for tomorrow… I think I have to go.”

“Okay,” Taehyung acquiesces. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Hardly,” Jungkook smirks. “But yeah, see you tomorrow. Bye, Tae.”

 

***

 

On Thursday night, V and J-Hope are sat in J-Hope’s garage, looking mindlessly at their phones and sipping on beer when, out of nowhere, J-Hope asks, “Did you call that girl, by the way?”

V tries not to grimace. He discreetly looks at J-Hope’s phone screen and, yep. There’s the name, confirming his suspicions, along with the little writing bubble to show that she’s currently typing. Texting Rosé must have reminded J-Hope about the fact that V still isn’t dating anyone himself.

“What girl?” he asks, feigning nonchalance. He was _really_ hoping J-Hope would have forgotten.

“The one from the café.”

“Uh, no, not yet,” V answers.

J-Hope frowns. “Why? I thought you’d jump at the chance.”

V shrugs. “Not exactly cool, calling the day after she gives me her number, is it?”

“Yeah, I see your point,” J-Hope nods. “It’s been a couple days now, though. You should ring her.”

“Okay, I will,” V acquiesces.

J-Hope stares at him. “Go on, then.”

V raises his eyebrows. “Now?”

“Don’t you want to?” J-Hope laughs.

“Yeah, okay,” V sighs.  He gets out his phone resignedly and finds Jennie’s number, pressing the call button before he can change his mind.

After a couple of rings, V gets hopeful that perhaps she wrote down the wrong number, or maybe she’s too busy to pick up, but then her voice filters through the line and V tries not to appear disappointed.

“Yeah?” she answers, her response short and sharp. If she hadn’t already given V her number and told him to call, V might mistake her brusque tone for disinterest.

“Hi – it’s V,” he says. “The boy from the café a couple days ago.”

“You called,” she notes, impressed.

“I did,” V agrees.

“So. What’s up?” she asks casually. V thinks he can hear the TV running in the background, maybe some other voices like she has friends over.

“How do you feel about going on a date with me this Saturday?” V asks, cutting straight to the chase.

She hums noncommittally and V hears something in the background that sounds like pages being turned over, like maybe she’s checking her diary. “I think I can do that. What were you thinking?”

“Uh, we could see a film?” V suggests. “The cinema, or something? I mean, if there’s something you want to see. Or is that too cliché?” V cringes at how nervous he sounds – he would usually be much more relaxed about asking people out, but he really needs Jennie to say yes. It’s the perfect way to get J-Hope off his back about seeing new people. If she refuses then V might have to purposefully search for girls to ask out, which he knows would hurt Jungkook.

Jennie laughs. “Cinema is dangerous. We’d have to sit together for two hours, even if we realise we hate each other after two minutes. How about something with an easier escape route?”

V blanches at her honesty. “Um, sounds good. Something to eat at the café, maybe? More casual?”

Jennie hums contemplatively. “Let’s go for coffee. Nothing too committal. If I like you enough to go out with you again, _then_ we can eat.”

V raises his eyebrows at the response – he’s not used to his date calling the shots on whether they see each other again. It’s usually V’s decision. “Whatever, sure. 7 sound good?”

“My shift starts at 7. Let’s say 6.”

“Okay,” V accepts, inwardly relieved that they have a one hour cap on how much time they spend together. “See you there.”

“Yep,” Jennie says before hanging up.

V breathes a sigh of relief. Well, that’s done. At least now he can relax a little bit. He looks at J-Hope, whose eyebrows are raised.

“Jeez, V, have you been spending time with Jungkook or something?” J-Hope smirks.

V freezes. “What?” he asks flatly, his eyes wide. How the hell could J-Hope have figured things out? He was _so_ careful.

J-Hope laughs. “You sounded really nervous. I’m not used to you losing your cool.”

“Oh,” V sighs, his panic dissipating as he realises that J-Hope is only mocking him for his nerves. “Yeah, well. I don’t know – maybe this could turn into something,” he lies, trying to justify his strange mood.

J-Hope raises his eyebrows again. “Another relationship, you mean? Because you’re usually pretty chill about those, too.”

V shrugs. “Who knows. Let’s just see how Saturday goes first, yeah?”

J-Hope nods, but he still seems to be looking at V in a new light. “Look at you, growing up.”

V snorts. “Don’t speak too soon.”

 

***

 

“I couldn’t get out of it,” Taehyung groans by way of greeting when he rings Jungkook on the way home.

“Get out of what?” Jungkook asks, confused.

“The date!” Taehyung laments. “The stupid fucking _date_. J-Hope made me ring her while I was round his.” He sighs pitifully. “God, this is such a joke. I’m sorry, Kookie – I just couldn’t get him to _stop_. And now. I have to go. On a date.” He spits out the words as if it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. “With someone who isn’t you. I feel like shit.”

“I was afraid of that,” Jungkook admits. His main consolation is that Taehyung sounds just as upset by the situation as Jungkook feels. “When is it?”

“Saturday,” Taehyung responds sadly. “I figured it would be good to do it on a day when I know you’re already busy.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Are you free on Sunday?” Taehyung asks abruptly. “I mean – I know homework is a bitch, and you’re busy all day Saturday, but –”

“Yeah, I can do Sunday,” Jungkook interrupts gently. “If we don’t meet until the evening then I can make sure my all my work’s done by then.”

“Great,” Taehyung says, exhaling shakily. “I’ll come by your house to pick you up at 7ish? It gets dark early nowadays. No one will even notice I’m there.”

“Sounds good,” Jungkook nods. “Hope you have a terrible time on Saturday.”

Taehyung chuckles. “Me too. And I hope the trip to London goes well.”

“I think it will be fun,” Jungkook says, although he sounds a little nervous.

“You still feeling okay about it?” Taehyung asks, just to make sure. He doesn’t like the thought of Jungkook being uncomfortable with a group of people he doesn’t know that well and being unable to escape the situation easily.

“Yeah, fine,” Jungkook smiles. “It’ll be good for me to spend some time with new people, I’m just. I don’t know. I’ll feel better once I’m with everyone and we’re on the train.” He sighs. “Ring me after Jennie’s gone, okay?”

“Will do,” Taehyung says softly. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

 

***

 

V turns up at the café a few minutes late, not wanting to appear rude but also feeling in no hurry to get there. He thinks about bailing, of course, but he knows that doing so could make things awkward for everyone at the café if Jennie ends up serving them – and things could also become especially awkward for V, if J-Hope found out he didn’t show and started annoying V for answers.

As it turns out, it’s just as well that V shows up for the date because J-Hope is sat with Suga at one of the tables, and the two of them wave him over when they spot him.

“She’s not here yet, don’t worry,” J-Hope says when V arrives at their table.

“What are you doing here?” V grumbles.

“Just wanted to wish you luck,” J-Hope grins.

“It’s Saturday night; shouldn’t you be out with your girlfriend?” V accuses. He doesn’t like the thought of J-Hope spying on him and Jennie – and he definitely doesn’t like the idea that J-Hope would know if V decided to blow off his date.

“It’s 6pm, dude,” J-Hope says pointedly. “I’m meeting her later. But for now, I figured I’d have a catch up with one of my favourite lads.” He gestures to Suga, who scowls at him.

“You only dragged me here to spy on V because you didn’t want to sit at a table alone,” Suga points out dryly.

“Fuck off, I’m paying for your milkshake,” J-Hope shoots back.

“The only reason I’m here,” Suga shrugs, taking a demonstrative sip.

V rolls his eyes at them. “Seriously, J-Hope, if you cared that much about how tonight went then you should have just suggested a double date.” He’s being sarcastic, obviously, but J-Hope’s face lights up at the idea.

“Hey, if things go well for you tonight, we’re definitely doing that next time!” J-Hope agrees excitedly.

Suga smirks at V. “You walked right into that one, mate.”

V sighs. “Yeah, I know. Okay, I’m going to grab a table now – and once you two finish your milkshakes, you’d better _leave_. I’m not having you watching us, that’s too weird.”

J-Hope snorts. “I see you making out with people all the time, V. You honestly make it pretty hard to avoid, considering how often you get off with different girls. What’s so different about this?”

V glowers at him until J-Hope accepts that he’s not going to receive an answer.

V goes and finds a seat – the furthest table away from his friends as possible – and waits for Jennie to arrive. But he quickly changes his mind when he can’t shake the constant feeling of their eyes on him. He decides to wait for her outside the café, sending her a quick text to explain the change in plans.

“You look good,” Jennie says when she turns up at twenty past six. She’s late, very much so, but V isn’t bothered. The less time he has to spend with her, the better.

“Yeah,” V agrees easily. “I look best when I’m in these jeans.”

Jennie raises her eyebrows. “Funny. I’d have thought you looked best without them.”

V gulps and tries not to seem affected. “Shall we go in?” he asks, placing a hand on the small of her back as they walk inside. It would be hypocritical of V to think Jennie’s shameless flirting was inappropriate; after all, it’s reminiscent of the way V usually acts on dates. He supposes that this must be down to the intervention of karma, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Jennie smiles at him as they sit down, and she’s pretty, really, but all V can think about is how much he wishes he were sitting opposite Jungkook instead and everything seems wrong.

They talk, they order, they talk some more and V really isn’t used to talking so much on dates like this. He usually gets bored of the meaningless introductions, makes out with whichever girl he’s with for a while and then goes home. But this isn’t one of those dates, and V finds that he’s actually nervous; stuttering when he orders his coffee and avoiding Jennie’s gaze when she looks at him too intensely.

Jennie spends the whole time constantly looking around at the other tables in the café, as if she’s waiting for something more interesting to happen, and V eventually sighs and looks at her resignedly. “Okay, here’s the deal. I don’t know what you were looking to get out of tonight, but I don’t do relationships, so –”

“Good,” Jennie interrupts. “I’m not looking for a relationship. You seem like more of a casual guy.”

V nods. “You got me there. So what did you want out of this, then?”

Jennie shrugs. “A simple arrangement for both of us, no strings. Acquaintances with benefits, if you like.”

“Acquaintances with benefits?” V repeats, feeling amused.

“You heard me,” Jennie says with a straight face and V suddenly realises that she’s not kidding.

“And what exactly does that entail?” he asks, although he thinks he has a pretty good idea.

Jennie smiles, entertained by his attitude. “You fancy a hook up, ring me and I’m there. Vice-versa.”

V bites his lip, thinking about how to respond without offending her. “Maybe we should just take things one step at a time?” he asks apprehensively. He _really_ doesn’t want to get into something like that.

Jennie smirks at him. “If you’re not down, that’s cool. I should go get my apron on anyway; I’m working soon.” She stands up, pushes her chair in and smiles at him, impressively not at all bothered at being turned down. “You have my number. Call me if you change your mind.”

She walks away and heads into the kitchen, out of V’s sight before he can even say goodbye.

But in many ways, he feels relieved.

V waves, very deliberately, at J-Hope and Suga as he exits the café – they stayed long after their milkshakes were finished, but V can’t say he’s surprised – and he heads to the bus stop to go home. His bus hasn’t arrived yet, so he gets out his phone and rings Jungkook as soon as he’s sat down in the shelter.

“Hey,” Jungkook answers after a couple of rings.

“Hi, it’s me,” Taehyung states unnecessarily. It feels good just to hear Jungkook’s voice again.

“How was your date?” Jungkook asks, sounding vaguely amused.

“Shit,” Taehyung responds without preamble. “She kept _flirting_ with me.”

Taehyung can practically hear Jungkook sniggering on the other end of the line. “I’ve heard people tend to do that on dates.”

Taehyung sighs frustratedly, trying to forget the feeling of Jennie’s eyes on him. He’s glad that their date wasn’t any longer than forty minutes. “It made me feel weird. I kept wishing she was you.”

“Good,” Jungkook replies, satisfied. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you had a horrible time.”

Taehyung laughs. “Thanks, Kookie.”

Jungkook grins. “Any time.”

“You still in London?” Taehyung asks.

“Yeah, but we’re at the station. Our train should be coming in soon,” Jungkook replies. After a pause he adds, “Don’t worry. I stepped away from the group to talk to you.”

“Then go back – you don’t want to lose them,” Taehyung chuckles, but he’s grateful. He doesn’t need anyone hearing about his love life over the phone.

Jungkook laughs. “Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Nah, you’ll be getting back late as it is,” Taehyung dismisses him. “Why don’t you get some rest tonight and you can fill me in tomorrow?”

“Sounds good,” Jungkook smiles. “See you then.”

“See you,” Taehyung mumbles before hanging up. He sighs, putting his phone away in his pocket as he leans his head against the window. Tomorrow can’t come quickly enough.

 

***

 

Taehyung looks anxiously around him to make sure the street is empty before he sets off towards Jungkook’s house. When Jungkook answers the door, Taehyung can’t help the grin that appears on his face. Jungkook smiles back and Taehyung hugs him close.

“You look really good. I like you in red,” Taehyung murmurs when they step apart. “Why don’t you ever wear red to school anymore?”

Jungkook shrugs. “It doesn’t match my Pink Lady jacket.”

Taehyung smirks at him. “I wouldn’t think you would care about something like that.”

“Well I don’t,” Jungkook responds defensively, “but Jimin does; and the last time I wore red and pink together he complained about my fashion choices for the whole day.”

“That does sound like Jimin,” Taehyung laughs. He holds out his hand. “Shall we go?”

“Sure,” Jungkook smiles, taking hold of Taehyung’s hand and shutting the front door behind him. “Where are we going?”

“How about the park?” Taehyung suggests. “It’ll be empty, and we can just hang out and chat. It’ll be nice.”

“Is the park even open at this time?” Jungkook frowns.

“We can climb over the fence,” Taehyung shrugs.

Jungkook blanches. “That’s breaking and entering.”

“No it’s not! We’re not breaking anything. Come on, Kookie, it’ll be fun!” he grins. “I’ve done it tons of times before and nothing’s ever happened.”

Jungkook sighs. “Yeah, okay. If we get caught, though, I’m blaming you.”

“Naturally,” Taehyung agrees. They reach the edge of the park and Taehyung smirks cockily at Jungkook before hoisting himself over the fence with ease. Jungkook follows him, using brute force to get up rather than following Taehyung’s carefully-planned route of minimal effort – and Taehyung pretends that he isn’t impressed by Jungkook’s blatant display of strength.

“So what do you want to do?” Jungkook starts as they link hands and start walking through the park.

Taehyung shrugs, a content smile on his face as he looks at Jungkook. “Just walk, chat, catch up. I don’t mind, really.”

“Well, if we’re talking, there is one thing I’ve been wondering – why are you so secretive about joining a dance class?” Jungkook looks at Taehyung curiously and Taehyung quickly turns his head away, not wanting Jungkook to know he was staring. Jungkook notices, of course, and chuckles. “Is my face really that pretty?”

“Don’t tease me; you know it is,” Taehyung grumbles. “And – it’s just not my _image_. J-Hope is the dancer, you know? And he’s so energetic and bubbly and thoughtful about things, and I’m not like that. I’m reckless and blasé and I’m not supposed to care…” Taehyung looks back at Jungkook to see him stifling a laugh and he rolls his eyes. “Maybe it sounds stupid to you.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows pointedly. “No, it sounds perfectly intelligent to me. You don’t want people to know you’re taking dance lessons, because you want to appear ‘blasé’.”

“It’s more than that,” Taehyung huffs. He looks at Jungkook defiantly. “Our school has this end of year party every year, okay? And they always have a dance competition and I came second last year and I was really mad that I didn’t win. This year is my last chance, so I have to make sure I get that trophy. But there’s no way I should care about something as stupid as a school dance competition, so I’m training in secret. Understand?”

“I understand,” Jungkook says solemnly and Taehyung hits him on the arm.

“You’re not taking this seriously,” he pouts.

“That’s because it’s stupid,” Jungkook says unapologetically with a wide grin.

Taehyung pulls his hand away from Jungkook’s and Jungkook looks at him in alarm. “Okay, fine,” Jungkook sighs. “It’s important to you. I might not understand why you feel you have to keep it hidden, but I guess I just don’t understand why you want to hide yourself from people in general.”

Taehyung remains silent, so Jungkook kicks the back of Taehyung’s leg as they walk; his way of initiating physical contact without having to do anything more intimate. Taehyung seems to understand and he grabs Jungkook’s hand, squeezing gently.

“I know you don’t understand it,” Taehyung says quietly. “But thank you for accepting it.”

Jungkook smiles softly. “I just think it’s a shame. Everyone seems so nice in the dance group and I don’t like the idea of you missing out on getting to know them.”

“Talking of which, how was your trip to London?” Taehyung grins.

“Really good actually!” Jungkook says excitedly. “Bambam couldn’t make it in the end – he came down with some stomach bug or something on Friday night – but I spent most of the day with Yugyeom and he made sure I was included in everything. The others seem really fun as well.”

“You spent most of the day with Yugyeom?” Taehyung reiterates, his smile fading slightly.

Jungkook frowns. “Yeah, why?”

Taehyung’s face falls. “I’m not sure how I feel about him.”

“What do you mean?” Jungkook asks innocently. “He’s been really nice to me so far.”

“That’s the problem,” Taehyung mutters bitterly. “I think he has a thing for you.”

Jungkook snorts. “And what gives you that impression?”

“I don’t know, maybe spending all day with you even though he has other friends who he knows much better?” Taehyung says pointedly.

“It’s only because he knows I’m shy and he didn’t want to leave me out,” Jungkook chuckles. “He’s just being friendly. You know, the whole invite to London was only a way of paying me back for his invite to pizza night.”

“Is pizza night a regular thing now, then? Maybe I should join you on the next one,” Taehyung says contemplatively.

“You should!” Jungkook agrees eagerly. “It’d be nice to have you there. I think you’d get along well with Bambam – and Yugyeom too, if you stop being weird and irrational about him.”

“I’m not being irrational,” Taehyung insists seriously. “I know that you like me, but Yugyeom doesn’t know about us and I’m just worried he’s going to… I don’t know. Make a move on you or something.”

Jungkook laughs incredulously. “Firstly, that’s ridiculous. Secondly, do you feel _threatened_ , Kim Taehyung?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “No, of course I don’t. I trust you. And anyway, I’m amazing, so what could I possibly be insecure about?” he grins and Jungkook kicks the back of his leg again, playfully this time.

“Honestly, Tae,” Jungkook smiles. “It’s cute that you get jealous so easily, but it’s really not necessary.”

“I just want you to be prepared,” Taehyung persists. “So that if he tries to flirt with you, you’ll have had some warning and you’ll know how to say no to him.”

Jungkook squeezes Taehyung’s hand gently. “If he does ask me out, then I’ll politely decline. But I really think you’re overreacting.”

Taehyung shrugs. “Maybe I’m reading too much into it, who knows. But you have that rare combination of being really hot and really adorable at the same time, so it’s only natural other people are going to take a liking to you. I just want you to be ready.”

Jungkook grins. “Well, in that case, thank you for looking out for me, Tae,” he teases.

Taehyung pouts. “You don’t get it.”

“What’s to get?” Jungkook shrugs. “You and me. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be complicated.”

Taehyung sighs in response and an awkward silence settles over them. Their relationship is a lot of things, but ‘simple’ definitely isn’t one of them.

“Hey, how about we lie down on the grass and look at the sky?” Taehyung suggests impulsively, pulling Jungkook off the path and onto the grass.

“Why?” Jungkook laughs.

“It’ll be cute,” Taehyung grins.

“It’ll be _cold_ ,” Jungkook counters, but when Taehyung lies down on the floor and holds out his arms, Jungkook lies down with him unquestioningly.

“It’s so pretty,” Taehyung murmurs, wrapping an arm around Jungkook’s waist and pulling him close.

“What are we looking at?” Jungkook says.

“The stars,” Taehyung responds simply. “It’s supposed to be romantic.” He looks at Jungkook softly. “And anyway, you told me you wanted to look at them together some day. So, here we are.”

“I did?” Jungkook frowns.

“Yeah, you did,” Taehyung chuckles. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember, though; you were practically asleep.” He grins as he looks up at the sky. “Doesn’t that view just warm your heart?”

“I’m cold and heartless,” Jungkook responds emotionlessly. “Can’t we keep walking? I’ll freeze out here.”

“But don’t you want to stargaze?” Taehyung protests. “I can tell you all about the different constellations and stuff.”

“What do you know about stars?” Jungkook scoffs.

“A lot!” Taehyung exclaims. “Look, over there there’s a cluster of stars, do you see?” He points his finger to the sky, his other arm tightening around Jungkook’s waist almost protectively, and Jungkook’s gaze follows Taehyung’s finger. “That constellation is called Venus. Oh, and that really bright star over here -” he points to a star on their far right - “this one’s called Pluto.”

“You’re just naming planets,” Jungkook says flatly.

Taehyung defeatedly lowers his hand back down onto the grass. “I could be naming stars,” he says sulkily.

Jungkook laughs. “But you’re not. I don’t know why you keep doing this. One time over summer, you claimed you knew all the names of the muscles in the body and then started naming Hunger Games characters.”

“I almost had you there,” Taehyung boasts.

“Oh, come on,” Jungkook argues. “I have to know names of muscles for PE; you’d never have fooled - wait, don’t you do PE too?”

“Maybe,” Taehyung says embarrassedly.

“And yet you still thought the rectus femoris was called ‘Cato’,” Jungkook giggles delightedly. Taehyung loves when Jungkook laughs like that. He can’t help but smile back at Jungkook. In the deep recesses of his mind he wonders why he bothered suggesting stargazing when Jungkook’s eyes shine brighter than any star in the sky.

“You don’t actually have to know the names of all the muscles,” Taehyung protests half-heartedly. “It’s not my fault that you do so much extra work.” Jungkook snuggles closer to him and Taehyung’s heart stops momentarily.

“Are you calling me a know-it-all?” Jungkook mumbles into Taehyung’s shoulder.

“When it comes to me, you do know it all,” Taehyung smiles goofily and Jungkook snorts.

“That was hella cheesy. But okay.”

“Okay?” Taehyung looks at him, amused. “What do you mean ‘okay’?”

“Just okay,” Jungkook responds unhelpfully.

Taehyung shakes his head. “I don’t understand you sometimes, Jeon Jungkook. You remain a mystery to the low and unworthy Kim Taehyung.”

Jungkook giggles. “Why are you being weird?” he asks, hiding his face in Taehyung’s neck.

Taehyung can feel Jungkook smiling against his skin, so he turns his face to get a better look and his witty response dies in his throat. Jungkook looks so beautiful like this, the moonlight catching his cheekbones and highlighting the stunning smile on his face. Taehyung can’t help but stare.

Jungkook looks up and his smile thins at the serious expression on Taehyung’s face. “Is everything okay?” he asks, concerned.

Taehyung’s gaze drifts down to Jungkook’s lips as he speaks. “I want to kiss you,” he says, his voice low. He bites his lip and flits his eyes up apprehensively to look at Jungkook. “Is that okay?”

Jungkook smiles gently, feeling relieved and perhaps a little endeared that Taehyung feels it necessary to ask for permission. “It’s always okay. You don’t have to ask.”

Taehyung bites his lip again, harder this time. “I know, but… I mean, I want to _kiss_ you. Like, properly.”

Jungkook frowns. “What do you mean?” He pokes Taehyung’s side. “Were our kisses _improper_ before?” he teases.

“I…” Taehyung begins, fidgeting uncomfortably in his position on the grass before he changes his mind. “Never mind. Let’s just sit. This is nice.”

Jungkook’s face scrunches up in annoyance. “No, tell me what you meant,” he insists, tapping Taehyung’s chest incessantly until he responds.

“I, okay. We don’t have to, but I just?” Taehyung grimaces, neglecting to finish his train of thought.

“Okay, seriously? I’m meant to be the awkward one here,” Jungkook says pointedly.

Taehyung sighs. “Do you seriously not know what I’m talking about?”

Jungkook shrugs helplessly. “No clue.”

“ _Kissing_ , Jungkook,” Taehyung prompts, staring at him with wide eyes as if this should assist Jungkook in understanding.

“Maybe you should just show me,” Jungkook suggests.

“Um – yeah, I can do that,” Taehyung says, biting his lip in thought. Jungkook almost rolls his eyes again, because Taehyung should know by now that seeing Taehyung bite his lip like that causes Jungkook to zero in on his mouth – and that makes it practically impossible not to kiss him. By now the temptation is far too great to ignore. Jungkook leans in eagerly, pressing his lips against Taehyung’s, and Taehyung relaxes into Jungkook’s arms.

They kiss gently, as if they have all the time in the world, and Jungkook can’t work out what’s supposed to be different about this kiss; not until Taehyung’s tongue swipes against Jungkook’s bottom lip, questioning and hesitant. Jungkook stills against Taehyung’s lips and Taehyung immediately pulls away nervously, noticing his discomfort. “Shit, sorry, I should’ve explained better – I mean – we don’t have to, I just thought –”

“Taehyung, come back,” Jungkook says gently, putting one hand on the back of Taehyung’s head to pull him in closer. He wants to see what it’s like.

Jungkook kisses him softly, coaxing his mouth open until Taehyung’s tongue slides over his own. Taehyung presses closer, wrapping his arms tighter around Jungkook’s torso and it feels _special_ , because he’s kissed plenty of people like this but it’s never felt so intimate; so meaningful.

Jungkook’s hands hold Taehyung close as his tongue explores Taehyung’s mouth, slowly and inquisitively, and his fingers tug absentmindedly at Taehyung’s hair – not enough to hurt, but just enough to make Taehyung feel breathless.

Eventually Jungkook pulls away and Taehyung gulps, looking at him apprehensively. “Well?”

Jungkook grins, but the way it lights up his face makes him look slightly hysterical. “That was weird,” he says, the announcement followed by a breathy laugh.

Taehyung frowns and tries not to feel disheartened. “Weird how?” he questions.

“I don’t know, just weird,” Jungkook giggles. “I mean, who thought of doing that? Who thought, I know what’s a good idea, let’s put our tongues in each other’s mouths and see what happens?”

“You make a good point,” Taehyung chuckles, but Jungkook can tell that he feels embarrassed.

Jungkook touches Taehyung’s neck gently, playing with his hair as he smiles at him. “It wasn’t a bad weird. Quite the opposite, actually. It was an interesting weird. Like an ‘I want to try that again’ kind of weird.”

“Really?” Taehyung asks, holding his breath involuntarily. “Because you don’t have to say that. We don’t have to kiss like that if you don’t want to.”

“I know,” Jungkook smiles. “But I want to.”

“Really?” Taehyung asks again.

“Really,” Jungkook laughs. “I _really_ want to.”

Taehyung blushes. “Okay, uh, cool. So, shall we…?”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows in amusement. “Tae, why do you seem so nervous? I know you’ve done this with people before.”

Taehyung’s grip on Jungkook’s waist tightens. “Yeah, but I’ve never done it with someone I actually care about.”

“Oh,” Jungkook replies in surprise, his voice small.

Taehyung smiles fondly. “It’s not like it’s a shock that I care about you. I’d say it was pretty obvious.”

Jungkook smiles back. “Thank you.”

Taehyung snorts, somewhat ruining the moment. “You’re welcome?” he says scornfully, but it’s teasing.

Jungkook chuckles, leaning closer into Taehyung’s touch. “Really, thank you. Not just for caring, but also for trying. I thought the stuff J-Hope said might have scared you away and I just… I know it’s hard for you,” he says softly.

Taehyung wraps his other arm around Jungkook before kissing him tenderly on the forehead. “It’s not hard when it’s like this,” he admits.

Jungkook blushes. “I know, but. Generally.”

Taehyung smiles. “Well. Generally, I’d say it’s worth it.”

Jungkook leans closer to Taehyung and lets their lips brush together, unable to wait any longer. Taehyung gets the message and pulls Jungkook closer, kissing him with almost more hope and affection than he has to offer.

This time, when Taehyung’s tongue brushes against Jungkook’s lips, still gentle and unsure, Jungkook doesn’t pull away. And they kiss under the light of the stars, just for tonight allowing themselves the space to breathe; to bask in each other’s warmth; and to ignore any worries about what will happen when the sun comes up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaah they are so cute together but they're also kind of in denial of reality and it's a problem o.o
> 
> we're getting deeper into the storyline now! hope you like where it's going hehe. comments are always appreciated ^.^ thanks for reading!


	13. baby don't sweat it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some more truck-fixing shenanigans with ot10, plus V joins Bambam, Yugyeom and Jungkook for pizza night!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ft. more awkward Jungkook and possessive Taehyung. enjoy!
> 
> ps. little warning for you – there’s a bit of homophobia at the end of this chapter (after the pizza night scene is over), probably written badly and unrealistically because I’m 100% yes homo (in case it wasn’t obvious lol) but yeah just in case that makes you feel uncomfortable be aware that it’s coming <3

“Happy December everyone!” Hani says excitedly as she sits down for lunch. J-Hope and V smile but LE ignores her.

“You’re a day late,” Suga points out as he digs into his food.

“I know, but I didn’t see any of you yesterday,” Hani says patiently. “So I’m celebrating today.”

“Too bad; the moment’s passed,” Suga replies unapologetically.

Hani scowls. “You’re exhausting,” she accuses. Suga grins in response.

“Are you guys still coming round tonight?” J-Hope asks.

“Yeah, sure,” LE responds. “Is your girlfriend still invited?”

J-Hope raises his eyebrows. “I’m not going to uninvite her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

LE sighs. “Okay, whatever.”

Suga laughs. “Why are you guys so weird whenever Rosé’s brought up? She’s dating J-Hope now; you should make an effort to be nicer.”

Hani raises his eyebrows. “Easy for you to say; you’re the only one she doesn’t pick on,” she points out.

“Maybe there’s a reason for that,” Suga shrugs, a small smile on his face.

“Why are you so smiley and talkative today?” V accuses. “It’s not like you.”

Suga glares at him. “If you’d prefer for me to be unhappy, you only have to say,” he says snarkily. Nobody knows about his impromptu weekend meetings with Jimin and Suga definitely isn’t planning on telling them; especially what with how they would make fun of him for seeking out Jimin’s company and how they would ask questions about why Suga needs the escape. The only person who knows about Suga’s family situation is J-Hope, and even he doesn’t know that it’s got worse recently. But Jimin – Suga trusts Jimin. And if Suga sometimes uses his parents as an excuse to see the younger boy, or if his day is made a little brighter simply by Jimin being there for him, nobody needs to know.

“I don’t want you to be unhappy; I just want you to be normal,” V replies, although he can’t help but feel struck by the similarities between this conversation with Suga and the conversation he and J-Hope had last week. If V didn’t know better, he might assume that Suga was secretly seeing Jimin.

“It’s the same thing,” Suga grumbles.

“ _Okay_ , you pessimist,” J-Hope chuckles lightly before anyone else can comment. “Anyway, are you guys all free on Saturday? Rosé told me that’s when Jin’s having his party.”

“Should be,” Hani nods.

“I think I’m working that night, but I can get one of the girls to switch shifts with me,” LE responds.

“Oh, talking of which,” J-Hope says excitedly as he turns to V, “are you going to see Jennie again?”

V feels put out at the attention, all eyes suddenly on him, but he shakes his head. “She was kind of intense.”

J-Hope shrugs. “Oh well. At least now you’ve got the ball rolling again. No need to thank me,” he grins.

“Noted,” V says pointedly. He knows that J-Hope is only trying to help, but that doesn’t stop him from being bitter about how it’s making an impact on his already limited time with Jungkook.

LE laughs. “Did you and Suga switch personalities for the day or something?”

 

***

 

“So what are you doing tonight?” Jisoo asks Rosé as they sit down for lunch at their regular table. The other Pink Ladies haven’t arrived yet, so Jisoo and Rosé spread out their jackets and bags to save the seats, just in case anyone tries to sit with them. “I know it’s a weekday, but we haven’t hung out properly in a while, so I thought maybe we should go shopping together.”

“Actually, I can’t,” Rosé says apologetically. “I’m seeing J-Hope tonight.”

“Again?!” Jisoo wails. “You’re always with him.”

“Then you shouldn’t invite me to hang out when it’s so last minute,” Rosé grins. “We can go shopping another day.”

“Tomorrow?” Jisoo asks hopefully.

“No, I’m seeing J-Hope again tomorrow,” Rosé responds.

Jisoo groans. “What do you even do? Just sit there and watch him working on the truck?”

“It’s pretty hot,” Rosé says defensively. “You’d be surprised how strong he is.”

“Whatever,” Jisoo sighs.

“Hey guys!” Jimin calls excitedly and Jisoo hurriedly clears the benches. “Hey, Rosé, it’s good to see you,” he smiles as he takes a seat next to Jisoo.

Jungkook and Jin also take their seats and Jin looks at Rosé happily, pleased that she’s sitting with them again after so long. “What were you two talking about?”

“Rosé is too busy with her boyfriend to hang out with me,” Jisoo states.

“She’s here now; that’s better than we’ve had for a while,” Jimin points out.

“Yeah, but she’s been blowing us off ever since the relationship started,” Jisoo counters. “It’s time for an intervention.”

Rosé raises her eyebrows. “I come back to you guys and you think I deserve an intervention? You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

“I don’t care if I’m not invited; I’m joining you at J-Hope’s garage tonight,” Jisoo says decisively.

“Okay, that might be fun,” Rosé admits. She opens her mouth to say something else and then falters. “Wow, I was about to tell you that at least then I’d have someone to admire the guys with. I can’t believe I forgot you’re gay!” She laughs. “You’re right – I’ve _definitely_ been away from you for too long.”

Jisoo scowls. “How can I be gay when I have, like, three boyfriends?” she says pointedly.

Rosé shrugs. “I don’t know, but somehow you manage it,” she says nonchalantly and Jimin laughs.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “There’s no way I can put up with this disrespect tonight with no backup,” she laments. She directs her gaze at Jin, who immediately straightens in his seat, briefly ignoring his food to turn his attention to Jisoo. “Jin, come with me to J-Hope’s,” she instructs.

Jin laughs before taking another bite of his lunch. “Yeah, right. Neither of us were actually invited, you know.”

Jisoo pauses thoughtfully. “I’ll buy you dinner this weekend.”

“My party’s this weekend,” Jin says dismissively.

“We can go on Friday,” she insists.

Jin raises an eyebrow. “Including dessert?” he asks, after a pause.

“Oh, definitely,” Jisoo smiles. “Plus starters and sides, if you want.”

“I’m in,” Jin responds enthusiastically. Jisoo smiles victoriously.

“Hang on, you guys can’t all go without me,” Jimin pouts.

“Then come with us!” Jisoo smiles excitedly.

“You just want to see Suga in his _element_ ,” Rosé smirks.

“So what if I do?” Jimin huffs. “I want to see you too, seeing as you’ve been avoiding us.”

Rosé smiles guiltily. “Okay, that’s fair. It’ll be fun to have you there too, Chim Chim.”

“Too right it will,” Jimin agrees fervently.

“Jungkook, you in?” Jisoo asks, turning to the Pink Lady who’s been quiet throughout the whole conversation.

Jungkook looks nervously at Rosé. “I’m not sure I’d really be appreciated there.”

Rosé shrugs and continues eating, but the others protest.

“Why would I ask you if I didn’t want you there?” Jisoo chuckles. (Jin makes a sound of agreement around another bite of food.)

“ _I’d_ like you to be there,” Jimin grins. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Do you really want all of us to go without you?”

Jungkook smiles, feeling grateful that the others are so interested in including him. “Okay, I’ll go.”

 

***

 

Rosé lets J-Hope know that she’ll meet him at his house, but she tactfully doesn’t mention that all the other Pink Ladies have invited themselves round. It’s not that she wants J-Hope to be thrown off guard; she just doesn’t want to be incriminated, as if she came up with the idea herself. If anyone asks, she tried her best to stop them.

“I’m excited!” Jisoo says excitedly as they all begin the walk down to J-Hope’s house.

“Why?” Rosé snorts. “You can either help with the truck or check out the guys. Not sure what’s going to appeal to you there.”

“Won’t LE and Hani be there as well?” Jin asks.

“Ah, good point,” Rosé acknowledges.

“I think it’ll be nice seeing how the truck is coming along,” Jimin comments. “They’ve been working on it for what feels like forever.”

Rosé frowns. “For ‘forever’, they really haven’t made much progress,” she contemplates.

“Yeah, but isn’t Suga the only one who knows what he’s doing?” Jin points out with an amused smile.

“Probably,” Rosé acquiesces. “He enjoys bossing the others about though; I can see it in his face.”

Jisoo laughs at Jimin’s dazed expression. “No need to imagine it, Chim Chim. You’ll get to see it soon enough.”

“Did you tell him we were coming?” Jin asks Rosé.

“Nope,” she responds. “Have fun justifying your decisions. If anyone asks, you all acted alone.”

They continue walking together, all contributing useless comments to the conversation except for Jungkook, who remains quiet. For some reason, Rosé’s presence in the group makes Jungkook feel guarded. She’s no longer mean to him, but she doesn’t exactly make him feel wanted, either. Perhaps it has something to do with her loud and over-exuberant personality that makes Jungkook feel like he should be even quieter and unassuming to help balance things out.

“Hi, J-Hope!” Rosé shouts enthusiastically, making her way over to the garage, while the other Pink Ladies hang back to remain out of view. “Your favourite person has arrived.”

Hani and LE turn around at the noise, rolling their eyes tiredly at Rosé before they get back to work. V stays hidden under the truck, knowing that Rosé  wouldn’t have anything good to say about him anyway, and Suga also ignores her because some people are actually trying to work here.

J-Hope, however, looks up from his position bent over the bonnet and grins at Rosé as soon as she walks in. “Hey!” he says just as enthusiastically, walking over to her to greet her properly. “I’d hug you, but my hands are a bit dirty,” he explains.

“I like it dirty,” she smirks, before wrapping her hands around his neck and kissing him. J-Hope kisses her back, careful not to accidentally touch her with his greasy hands because, although she acts as if she doesn’t mind, J-Hope knows it would be another matter entirely if he got grease on her clothes.

“Seriously?” LE grimaces. “Already?” She looks at Hani dejectedly. “When are we going to catch a break?”

“Ah, to be young and in love,” Hani sighs in response. She takes another look at the couple as Rosé tugs J-Hope’s leather jacket off and throws it on the floor, their lips somehow staying connected as she pulls at his clothes. Hani immediately turns back to LE. “Or perhaps young and in lust,” she corrects tactfully.

“Hi guys, the party’s arrived!” Jisoo announces excitedly, poking her head around the side of the garage.

Suga looks up in surprise. “Jisoo?”

“Don’t worry; it’s not just me,” she responds slyly, sauntering over to the truck with the other Pink Ladies hot on her heels.

“Hi, Suga,” Jimin says shyly when he reaches the truck.

Suga gulps. “Jimin.” Suga is vaguely aware that this greeting is probably too curt to sound friendly, so he opens his mouth to say something else, but his brain short-circuits. “I, uh…” He coughs awkwardly. “Hnng.” _Damn_ it. He’s usually pretty cool around Jimin, but he also usually has time to prepare himself before seeing him. It’s not often that Jimin shows up unexpectedly.

“You okay?” Jimin asks, confused.

“Yep. Fine,” Suga says shortly, determinedly turning back to the truck before he can do something stupid, like blush or stumble over his words again or tell Jimin he looks really cute today.

“What are you all doing here?” LE asks curiously as she walks over to the group of Pink Ladies with Hani.

“Yeah, I didn’t know everyone was coming,” Hani comments.

“Everyone?” V asks from his position on the floor. He tries to look up quickly to see whether Jungkook is there and manages to hit his head in the process. “ _Ow_ ,” he hisses under his breath.

LE snorts. “You alright, there, V?”

V pokes his head out, more successfully this time, and scowls at LE. “Great, thanks,” he says sarcastically. He shuffles out from underneath the truck and brushes himself off as he stands up.

His eyes zero in on Jungkook and he smiles involuntarily, before he remembers to direct his smile at all the other Pink Ladies as well. But his eyes automatically flit back to Jungkook again, who’s still staring at V intently, and all V can think about is last night; the feeling of Jungkook’s lips on his and Jungkook’s tongue in his mouth. He gulps and averts his gaze.

“Hi, everyone,” V smiles, deliberately looking at the other Pink Ladies, but Jungkook understands that the greeting is for him.

“Hi, Tae,” Jungkook says softly without thinking, but then he and V both freeze.

“What’s ‘tay’?” Suga asks, confused.

“Uh.” Jungkook wishes that he didn’t always forget about everybody else’s existence when he’s in the same room as V. “I meant ‘hey’,” Jungkook scrabbles.

“You were going to say ‘hi hey’?” Suga questions contemptuously.

“I - uh...” Jungkook tries to hide his alarm. “Sometimes if I don’t know which greeting to use, I just use all of them. It covers all bases. So yeah. Hi hey.” Jungkook forces out a laugh.

“But… you said ‘tay’,” Hani points out, perplexed.

“I do that sometimes!” Jungkook defends (albeit slightly hysterically). “I put a ‘T’ at the beginning of words when it should be an ‘H’… Nervous habit, I suppose.”

“You... what?” LE frowns.

“Yeah,” Jungkook continues enthusiastically, “so horses sleep on tay, I eat tamburgers... Once I even accidentally called my first crush ‘Tarry’.” Jungkook forces out a self-deprecating laugh as V tries to tamp down his unwarranted jealously.

Suga stares at him for a second. “You can be really fricking weird sometimes,” he shrugs eventually, before moving on with his life. Jungkook lets out a sigh of relief. _Close call._

“So really, what are you guys doing here?” Hani asks interestedly.

“Rosé’s been avoiding us, so we decided to follow her here,” Jisoo responds. (After discussing it on the walk down, Jisoo came up with the explanation that they could pretend to be stalking their friend; because at least that way nobody would pick on Rosé for not mentioning that they were coming. She feels like Rosé is very lucky to have a friend like her.)

“Well done; you’ve just subjected yourself to an afternoon of blatant PDA,” Suga deadpans, glancing at the couple responsible. J-Hope and Rosé are still in lip-lock, somehow not needing to take any breaks to catch their breath. He doesn’t understand how they manage it.

“Gross,” Jisoo mutters, voicing what they’re all thinking.

“I know,” Suga sighs. “Better get used to it.”

“I think it’s cute,” Jimin pipes up, a wide smile on his face.

“How?” Jisoo asks accusatorily. “They can’t keep their hands off each other for even two seconds, it’s disgusting.”

“That’s my point,” Jimin explains. “It must be nice to feel that way about someone and know that they feel the same way back.” Jimin suddenly realises what he’s said and flushes pink from embarrassment before excusing himself to go to the bathroom – as if it weren’t already obvious enough that his statement was directed at someone in particular.

Suga watches him leave, an unreadable expression on his face, before he turns decisively to his fellow T-Birds. “Okay, guys. Forget the distractions. J-Hope, get over here! Let’s get back to work.”

They all spend the rest of the afternoon together in J-Hope’s garage, either working on the truck or watching the people working, and it’s surprisingly fun for Jungkook. He realises that even if he and Rosé don’t necessarily see eye to eye, he’s still missed hanging out as a big group, with all the Pink Ladies and T-Birds together. And, of course, Jungkook gets to watch V as he and the other T-Birds fit the new tyres and tune up the breaks. He has to acknowledge that Rosé has a point – seeing V working hard like that somehow makes him look seriously attractive. Not that he isn’t attractive anyway; but Jungkook is used to seeing the more goofy and playful side to him. This is something else altogether. This is _hot_. Although Jungkook has to admit that he’s still adorable by default – for example, at some point V gets grease on his forehead, and it takes all of Jungkook’s self-control not to go up to him and wipe it off. It takes V far too long to notice that his face is dirty and Jungkook spends the whole time trying not to grin or laugh at him, because it would give away the fact that he’s been staring. However, apart from the fact that Jungkook has to try and avoid talking to V for the whole afternoon for fear of giving something away, their time at J-Hope’s goes very smoothly.

 

***

 

As usual, Taehyung rings Jungkook once he’s sat down on the bus, by which point Jungkook is already at home and trying to do his homework (the key word being ‘trying’). They talk about anything and everything; or rather, Taehyung talks about a completely random slew of topics and Jungkook sits there quietly and indulges him. He makes the occasional comment, of course, which then sets Taehyung off on a whole new tangent, but Jungkook loves moments like these. He loves listening to Taehyung talking about things he’s passionate about – even if it’s something as stupid and unimportant as “Why do ducks have to make that _sound?_ Seriously, I’d be much more willing to give them bread if they stopped _quacking_ at me like that, Jesus Christ.” Jungkook laughs and suggests that perhaps they quack extra aggressively when he’s around, just to irritate him.

After a while, Taehyung looks around at the scenery and sighs, but he’s not entirely sure whether it’s out of relief or disappointment. “I’m almost home. I should go.” It’s a long journey, and Taehyung is tired and ready to finally go home after a long day, but he also doesn’t want to stop talking to Jungkook.

“It’s okay, we’ve been talking for a while already,” Jungkook reminds him, seeming to understand Taehyung’s inner conflict.

“Yeah, but…” Taehyung trails off, his eyes widening in worry. “Shit, don’t you have a shitload of homework? I shouldn’t have talked to you for so long.” He groans. “You should’ve told me to shut up or hung up the phone or something, _damn it,_ Jungkook.”

Jungkook laughs. “It’s fine. I’ve been multitasking.”

Taehyung scowls. “Rude. You’re telling me you weren’t paying full attention to what I was saying?”

Jungkook snorts. “As much as ducks may be the bane of your existence, this Art coursework is in for tomorrow.”

“They’re more than the bane of my existence; they’re my _mortal enemies_ ,” Taehyung corrects seriously. “But well done for not getting too distracted by me. I know it’s difficult.”

“You’re so full of yourself,” Jungkook giggles. But the reminder of how distracting he finds Taehyung makes him remember what happened when he arrived at J-Hope’s that afternoon, and he immediately stops laughing. “Hey, by the way, sorry about the slip-up earlier. You know, with your name,” he says nervously.

“Don’t worry about it,” Taehyung smiles. “You covered for it well.”

Jungkook sighs. “They all think I’m completely crazy.”

“They thought that anyway,” Taehyung says consolingly.

“I guess,” Jungkook acquiesces. He then yawns, and Taehyung hears it and chuckles.

“Are you tired?” Taehyung smirks.

“No,” Jungkook says petulantly.

Taehyung laughs. “Goodnight, Kookie.”

“Goodnight, Tae.”

 

***

 

At the end of dance class, when everybody’s packing up their things, Jungkook walks over to Bambam and Yugyeom and joins in with the discussion about which James Bond film they’re watching this evening.

“Shouldn’t we watch them in order?” Yugyeom argues.

“That’s boring,” Bambam argues back. “We need to make it interesting.”

“James Bond already _is_ interesting,” Yugyeom protests.

“Hey, is it okay if V comes along tonight?” Jungkook asks hopefully.

There’s a stunned pause, and then Yugyeom snorts. “Why would he want to?”

“I convinced him he should start making some friends,” Jungkook smiles.

Yugyeom looks at him in surprise. “You talk to him?”

“Yeah, I know him from school,” Jungkook answers.

“Still,” Yugyeom frowns. “I thought he didn’t talk to anyone except… what do they call themselves?” Yugyeom misses the warning look Bambam shoots his way. “The T-Birds and Purple Girls or something, I don’t know.” He rolls his eyes. “What a load of tossers.”

Jungkook scratches his head awkwardly. “Actually, it’s the Pink Ladies. And I’m one of them.”

Yugyeom laughs incredulously. “You’re kidding, right?”

Jungkook smiles awkwardly. “No. I have the jacket to prove it, if you want to see.”

Yugyeom grins at him, although it feels a little mocking. “Wow. I really didn’t peg you as the type.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “The type?” he snorts, but in all honesty he finds it pretty funny as well.

“You know, the type to wear matching jackets as if it makes you cool,” Yugyeom snickers.

“I know it’s silly,” Jungkook acknowledges with a smile. “But they’re pretty decent people, once you get to know them.”

Yugyeom shrugs. “Okay, then let me find out for myself. He can join us.”

Bambam raises his eyebrows. “Pretty sure it’s my house, Yugyeom.”

Jungkook snorts, then looks at them both apologetically. “Uh. So you’re okay with it, right?”

Bambam grins. “Course. Tell him to come over.”

Jungkook grins back. “V!” he calls over his shoulder.

V turns around in surprise, as do a couple of other people in the room because nobody’s used to V’s presence being acknowledged. A couple of them watch the exchange, wondering whether V will lash out like he has done before, but instead he walks wordlessly towards Jungkook, Bambam and Yugyeom when Jungkook waves him over.

“You’re invited!” Jungkook announces excitedly.

V smiles, and Yugyeom does a double take because never, in the few months of V coming to these classes, has Yugyeom ever seen him smile. “Thanks for letting me come along,” he says graciously. “I hope I’m not messing up your routine or anything.”

“Nah, course not,” Bambam smiles back. “Shall we go?”

On the walk back to Bambam’s house, Jungkook and V walk side by side and talk about nothing in particular, their hands brushing every time they take a step. Jungkook wants nothing more than to take V’s hand in his, holding it as they walk down the street, but he knows that he can’t. Even if Yugyeom wasn’t an issue, there are still people everywhere and V doesn’t want strangers to know about his sexuality any more than he wants his friends to know. But Jungkook realises that he doesn’t mind too much; not when V smiles at him so brightly like that, as if there’s nothing more important to him than what Jungkook has to say. Jungkook doesn’t need anything else.

“What’s the setup?” V asks when they get inside.

Yugyeom answers the question as he leads V through to the living room, the other two following behind. “I order the pizza, Bambam sets up the film and Jungkook sits on the sofa and looks pretty,” he grins.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, knowing that it’s a jibe about how he doesn’t do anything to help, but V’s eyes narrow angrily.

Jungkook coughs awkwardly, coming to stand in between them as he smiles nervously. “Shall we get started then?”

“Sure,” Bambam shrugs. “But I don’t think we actually decided which film we’re watching.”

“Just pick one,” Jungkook says urgently, wanting them to get settled in before V and Yugyeom can have any conflict.

Bambam looks at Jungkook suspiciously, but he obediently picks out Die Another Day from his collection and puts it into the DVD player without another word.

“What kind of pizza do you want?” Yugyeom asks V pleasantly as he gets up the number on his phone.

“I don’t mind. Just do what you usually do,” V responds. He’s making an effort to be nice; after all, Yugyeom is Jungkook’s friend and Jungkook obviously likes him. V should try to like him as well.

“Okay,” Yugyeom nods, before he exits the room to make the call. (Last week Yugyeom was talking to the pizza place on the phone while Bambam was struggling to set up the film. Bambam couldn’t get the sound to work, but then the adverts suddenly blasted out at full volume and scared the crap out of all three of them. Yugyeom swore loudly, his phone still clutched to his ear, and then the pizza place hung up on him. Since that unfortunate incident, they have learnt from their mistakes.)

“You okay?” Jungkook asks V once Yugyeom has disappeared, cautiously walking over to him.

“Yeah,” V smiles, taking Jungkook’s hand in his and threading their fingers together.

“So why are you really here?” Bambam asks V curiously from his position bent on the floor by the TV. “I know you don’t care about making new friends.”

“That’s not true,” V replies defensively. “I want to get to know Jungkook’s friends – if you’re important to him, then you’re important to me too.”

Jungkook grins at Bambam. “He thinks that Yugyeom has a crush on me.”

Bambam snorts. “What?”

“That’s what I said,” Jungkook laughs.

“I don’t think it’s _that_ unreasonable,” V protests, clutching Jungkook’s hand tighter. He looks at Jungkook, an eyebrow raised. “Did you not hear him call you pretty?”

Jungkook snorts. “That was a _joke_.”

“It can’t be a joke when it’s true,” V frowns.

“Stop it,” Jungkook laughs, pushing V away playfully.

“Okay,” V shrugs, a small smile playing at his lips. “So, where am I sitting?”

Bambam frowns. “We usually all sit on the sofa, but there’s only really room for three. Maybe we could move the armchair?” he suggests, pointing at a big armchair in the corner of the room that V didn’t even notice.

“Sounds good,” V agrees, and then he and Bambam walk over to move the chair. However, after three unsuccessful attempts at picking it up, V gives up his pride and looks at Jungkook. “A little help?” he pants, out of breath from his attempt at manual labour.

Jungkook smiles, amused, before helping them lift the chair and set it down in front of the TV.

“Wow, you’re really strong,” V says admiringly as he settles into the armchair.

Jungkook blushes but doesn’t deny it. “Um – you could sit with me on the sofa, you know, if you want,” he says awkwardly. “I mean, I’m sure one of the other two wouldn’t mind sitting in the armchair for the night.”

V smiles gently. “Thanks, Kookie, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m not sure I’d be able to sit next to you without cuddling up to you,” he explains.

“Oh,” Jungkook replies, blushing again. “Okay.” He sits down on the sofa – the end closest to V’s armchair – and waits for Yugyeom and Bambam to join him.

Bambam is standing by the DVD player and fiddling with the TV remote when Yugyeom walks back into the room. The three of them look up at him curiously, Bambam raising his eyebrows. “What took you so long?” Bambam asks.

Yugyeom smiles embarrassedly as he settles onto the sofa next to Jungkook. “I had a really weird conversation with the pizza guy. I think he’s new – he kept trying to sell me garlic bread, it was really weird? He kept being like, ‘it’s only £5 for the garlic!’ But I thought he was telling me it would cost £5 to add garlic to the pizzas, which seemed completely random, especially considering I didn’t ask and – I don’t know, it was a mess.”

Jungkook laughs. “Sounds eventful.”

Yugyeom grins. “You got that right. What are we watching?”

Bambam holds up the DVD case and Yugyeom shoots him an approving thumbs up.

“So, what do you say? Are we all ready to die another day?” Yugyeom asks happily, wanting to make sure that nobody’s going to interrupt the flow of the film once it’s started.

“I know I am,” Jungkook responds, falling further back into the cushions as he assumes his (obviously extremely flattering) TV lounging position.

Yugyeom snorts at the way Jungkook has slumped into the cushions and ruffles his hair playfully before looking at V. “V? You ready?” he asks.

V blinks at being addressed and tries to keep his expression impassive. He can’t get mad at Yugyeom touching Jungkook – that’s ridiculous. It’s just _hair_. He tries his best to smile at Yugyeom, although it may turn out looking more creepy than friendly. “Yeah, sure,” he responds, before turning back around in his seat to face the TV.

Bambam grins proudly as the opening credits come up on the screen, and he excitedly turns up the volume as he flops onto the sofa next to Yugyeom.

Once the film gets going, none of them speak to each other much, but it isn’t awkward. It’s more that they all understand James Bond should not be interrupted unless it’s an emergency. Of course, the pizza arriving counts as an emergency because all of them are _starving_ – especially Yugyeom, of course, because ‘starving’ is apparently his default state – but when Bambam pauses the film for a second time, it isn’t taken so lightly.

“I’m calling a toilet break,” Bambam announces, standing up from the sofa.

Yugyeom glares at him. “Do you mind? It was just getting to the good bit.”

“All of it’s the good bit,” Bambam points out.

“Not the point,” Yugyeom grumbles. “Why do you get to make the rules?”

“It’s my house,” Bambam shrugs, before exiting the room.

Yugyeom rolls his eyes at Jungkook conspiratorially and Jungkook laughs. “Hey, if we’re taking a break,” Jungkook says suddenly, “can I ask you about what’s happening with Youngjae’s party? I know I’m not definitely invited, but I should probably check whether I can make it or not, just in case,” he explains.

Yugyeom winces, nodding his head in V’s direction, and Jungkook frowns.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Jungkook asks obliviously.

V turns around to look at them, wondering what’s going on, and Yugyeom smiles guiltily. “Okay, here’s the thing. I kind of deliberately didn’t mention the party while V was here…” Yugyeom looks at V apologetically. “It’s just that you’re not really friends with any of the people and it would make things awkward if you were there with no one to talk to –”

“Who said I wanted to go?” V interrupts. “Like you said, they’re not my friends.” He means for it to sound like a way of saying ‘don’t worry, I’m not offended’, but the sentence comes out harsher and more arrogant than he intends it to.

“There’s no need to be rude about it,” Yugyeom mumbles.

V grimaces. “That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t expecting an invite, that’s all, so you don’t need to feel bad about it.”

“I won’t, then,” Yugyeom shrugs. He doesn’t say it in a rude way, but somehow the response still manages to make V feel frustrated.

Sensing that V is getting annoyed, Jungkook quickly steps into the conversation before anyone can start acting like an irrational douchebag. (Unfortunately, Jungkook knows who’s most likely to do so.) “Who would’ve thought? Me having more friends than you?” Jungkook asks V cheekily.

“I would,” Yugyeom responds instantly. “You’re much easier to get along with.”

“Okay, but generally V’s more popular…” Jungkook says hesitantly. He wasn’t expecting a serious answer, but Yugyeom doesn’t seem to realise that it was a joke.

“I have friends, you know,” V mutters. “And I probably talk to a lot more people than you do,” he adds unnecessarily to Yugyeom.

“You both talk to more people than me,” Jungkook contributes, trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

At least it makes V laugh. “ _Everyone_ talks to more people than you, you awkward potato,” V grins.

“I’m not _that_ awkward,” Jungkook protests, but he’s smiling.

“You should try having a conversation with yourself,” V shoots back. “I have to fill in all the silences, and I swear half of your sentences start with ‘um’.”

Jungkook laughs in response, but Yugyeom doesn’t seem to find it so funny. “You shouldn’t pick on him for being shy,” he interjects, vaguely annoyed at V’s attitude. Why’s he being mean to the boy that got him the invite to pizza night in the first place? When Jungkook got _Yugyeom_ the invite, he paid back with an invitation to London for a day, but all V’s paying him back with is insults.

“He brought it up,” V frowns, confused. If Jungkook is joining in and laughing about it then surely it’s obvious that it’s only a joke?

“It’s not his fault if he feels awkward around new people,” Yugyeom continues. “At least he’s making an effort.”

Jungkook grimaces at his friend. “Yugyeom, it’s okay. I’m the one who mentioned it, and V was only kidding.”

“You shouldn’t let him talk to you like that,” Yugyeom says insistently, turning to Jungkook.

“Um…” Jungkook replies. (V is tempted to make a joke, but he figures it may not be wise considering the situation.)

Bambam reappears in the doorway and smiles at them as he sits back down on the sofa. “Anyone else want to go while we’ve paused the film? Toilet’s just down the hallway, to the right.”

“Yeah, may as well,” Yugyeom says, standing up from the sofa and exiting the room with a quick smile sent in Jungkook’s direction. Jungkook grimaces back.

V watches Yugyeom disappear around the corner and then turns in his chair to look at Jungkook.  “He likes you,” V says sadly. (Bambam looks at them warily and then decidedly gets out his phone and tries to busy himself with it. There’s no way he wants to get caught in the middle of whatever _this_ is.)

“You’re being paranoid,” Jungkook states calmly.

“Did you not hear what he said a few seconds ago?” V insists.

“He was just sticking up for me,” Jungkook sighs. “I don’t think he realised you were only playing around.”

“That’s not the only thing,” V says adamantly. “Did you not realise how – how _close_ he’s been sitting to you? There’s hardly _any_ distance between you...”

“It’s a small sofa,” Jungkook responds. He sighs at V’s unconvinced expression. “Come here,” he says gently, patting his lap.

V frowns, but he still stands up and shuffles his feet the few metres towards the sofa before climbing into Jungkook’s lap. Jungkook wraps his arms round V’s waist, pulling him in closer. “Was he _this_ close?” Jungkook murmurs.

“No,” V mumbles back, smiling slightly.

“Do you think maybe you’re overreacting?” Jungkook continues gently.

“Maybe,” V concedes. “I still don’t like it, though.”

“You’re so overprotective,” Jungkook smiles. “Kind of reminds me of my mum.”

V chokes. “Okay, Jungkook – _please_ don’t ever compare me to your mother, _ever_ again. That’s beyond weird.”

Jungkook laughs. “I didn’t mean it weirdly.”

V snorts. “You never do.”

Jungkook smiles, fiddling with the hem of V’s t-shirt, and V smiles back. V wonders, not for the first time, how he got so lucky.

“Can I kiss you?” V asks hesitantly.

“You can always kiss me,” Jungkook responds gently, and so V does. It’s a soft, sweet kiss, and Jungkook’s hands clutch at V’s t-shirt, pulling him closer as V puts his hands on Jungkook’s hips. He then brings one hand up to play with and mess up Jungkook’s hair, because it may be petty as hell but V will be damned if Yugyeom is the last person to screw with Jungkook’s hairstyle. V knows that he’s being a little possessive, but he can’t bring himself to care; not when Jungkook’s hair looks suitably unkempt and V knows that it’s because of him.

Jungkook pulls away, grinning at V. “Do you feel better yet?”

“No. I think you’ll have to kiss me some more,” V responds maturely.

“Stop it,” Jungkook giggles.

“Stop what?” V questions.

“Being an idiot,” Jungkook grins.

“Hey! It’s not my fault it’s my default behaviour,” V protests.

Jungkook stares at him, amused. “That kind of is your fault.”

V rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

Jungkook snorts. “Nice comeback.”

“Thanks,” V grins.

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

They hear the chain flush in the distance and look at each other worriedly. V presses a quick kiss to Jungkook’s forehead before standing up from Jungkook’s lap and sitting himself back down in the armchair, smoothing down his shirt in the process. Jungkook tries to act casual as he frantically pats down his hair, trying to get it somewhat back to normal.

“What are you doing?” Yugyeom asks Jungkook curiously as he sits back down on the sofa.

Bambam looks between Yugyeom and Jungkook, seemingly only just tuning back into the conversation. V also looks at them, and sure, maybe Yugyeom is sitting a little too close for V’s liking, but Yugyeom wasn’t the one sat in Jungkook’s lap just now, kissing him. V tries to bite back his smile, turning away from them and back to the TV screen.

“Just fixing my hair,” Jungkook responds automatically, but then he freezes. ‘Fixing’ implies that something happened to it to start with. “Uh, I mean, restyling,” Jungkook says, backtracking immediately. “Yep. I was restyling it.”

“Restyling it?” Yugyeom questions. “Why?”

“Well. You know. I just – I’ve got to look good,” he explains feebly. He inwardly cringes; why can he never come up with ordinary reasons for his actions? “Can’t be walking around with crazy hair if I’m trying to make a good impression,” he continues, feeling that his explanation needs more reasoning behind it, but he belatedly realises that he’s just making it weirder.

“Yeah, otherwise everyone will stare at you and call you ‘Crazy Hair’,” V deadpans from his position in the armchair. Jungkook scowls at him and V grins. Oh, how he loves the way Jungkook always manages to embarrass himself when trying to cover for him.

“As I said,” Jungkook responds tightly, “I’ve got to look good.” He’ll get payback for this slander later.

“You look good anyway,” Yugyeom comments offhandedly, before flicking the film back on.

Jungkook’s eyes flick to V just in time to see his fists clench angrily by his sides. But, thankfully, V gets a hold of his emotions, and he also makes an effort to be much less passive aggressive to Yugyeom for the rest of the night. It also seems that V and Bambam have a similar sense of humour, with them laughing at the same lines during the film and making stupid comments to each other once the credits come on screen, and Jungkook finds himself grinning. Despite a few minor blips in the beginning, they’re all chatting like old friends by the end of the evening. Jungkook feels confident in being able to call tonight’s pizza night a success.

 

***

 

The next day after school, Bambam and Lisa are walking together, talking about which celebrities they find the hottest as they head to the bus stop. They often walk together on nights like these, because it gets dark earlier around Christmas and Lisa doesn’t like going to the bus stop on her own – not when there are often people hanging around the streets after school who could catcall her and generally make her feel uncomfortable. There’s  a group of teenage boys probably around their age who are staring at Bambam and Lisa as they walk past, and it’s in moments like these that Bambam is glad he joins Lisa on her walk to the bus stop. Safety in numbers, and all that. A collection of four or so boys like that would probably make Lisa feel wary if she were on her own, but with Bambam there, she simply carries on their conversation as if nobody else is around.

“Oh, come on, you must have a celebrity crush,” Lisa insists.

Bambam shakes his head. “There are _loads_ of famous guys. How am I meant to pick just one?”

Lisa nods in understanding. “I suppose. But isn’t there anyone in particular that catches your attention?”

“No,” Bambam shrugs. “I prefer to spend my time on real people.”

Lisa laughs. “And all these celebrities are just holograms?”

“I _meant_ people I know,” Bambam grins.

They reach the bus stop and they stand to face each other. “Anyway, thanks for walking with me,” Lisa smiles. “I’d better go.”

Bambam hugs her goodbye. “See you tomorrow,” he says before turning around.

He walks away, heading back the same way that he came, en route to his house. The group of boys that were staring at him and Lisa are still there, but Bambam most certainly isn’t expecting it when he hears one of them mutter “fag” under his breath as Bambam walks past.

Bambam stills and slowly turns around, staring at the group stone-faced. “What did you just say?”

One of the boys smirks. “He called you a _fag._ You got a problem with that?”

Bambam rolls his eyes. “I think you’re the ones with the problem.” He makes to turn around and leave, because it’s really not worth wasting his time on people like this, but then a different boy speaks up and gets his attention again.

“You’re attracted to _guys_ and you think _we_ have a problem?” he asks incredulously.

Bambam inhales deeply and then exhales, trying to get a hold of his anger. (It doesn’t work.) “What’s it got to do with you?” he spits.

“Hey, you’re the one who stopped to talk to us,” one of the boys says warily, standing up and facing Bambam head-on.

“Yeah, because you called me a _fag_ ,” Bambam snarls. He’s never been too good at dealing with homophobic comments, and now is no different.

The boy steps forward, fist clenching threateningly, and Bambam steps forward as well, ready to fight if it’s necessary.

“Jeez, back off,” one of the other guy pipes up, standing up and pushing Bambam backwards. “In case you didn’t get it, he’s not _interested_.”

Bambam snorts disdainfully. “ _Please._ I can do better than that scumbag.”

“The fuck you talking like that for?” another boy says angrily. Bambam’s starting to lose track of which one’s which as the other two stand up and corner him. “You’re the one who started this, you poof.”

Honestly, Bambam has always found ‘poof’ to be quite a funny word, but the way this guy says it like he’s entirely disgusted by the concept makes it not seem quite so funny anymore. Bambam can’t help himself from feeling mad at the implications and, although he tries to turn around and leave before he can do anything stupid, the others are blocking his route.

“Fuck off,” Bambam mutters, trying to push past them, but he gets roughly pushed back. Honestly, he’s starting to feel a little worried. He may be ballsy, but taking on all four of them and coming out unscathed is looking extremely unlikely. He takes a subtle deep breath to gather his strength and confidence, because he definitely can’t stand here and do nothing, either.

However, before he can retaliate, a voice yells, “Hey, leave him alone,” and Bambam turns around in surprise to see V walking over to him.

“Who are you, his boyfriend?” one of the boys says mockingly, but then one of the others pokes him and gestures to his T-Bird jacket. Bambam watches them, confused.

“The real question is, who the fuck are you?” V spits. “I can guarantee I have friends, and one of them in particular isn’t going to like it if she finds out you’ve been picking on him,” he says, gesturing towards Bambam and the others look between them awkwardly.

“That’s the same as LE’s jacket,” one of the boys hisses to his friends and, after considering it for a moment, they all back away with half-hearted apologies.

Bambam raises his eyebrows in surprise. “What on earth was that about?”

“LE terrifies everybody,” V explains, heading over to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Bambam smiles, relieved. “Thanks, mate.”

“No problem,” V smiles back. “It’s what friends are for, right?”

“Yeah, friends,” Bambam nods, feeling pleased that V considers them to be friends now. “And, just for the record, I’d do the same for you,” he adds.

“I need to get to my bus, but I’ll see you next week?” V asks, a little hesitant to leave. He knows that Bambam might still feel shaken up from the encounter, but if he doesn’t get to the bus now then it could leave without him.

“Yeah, sure,” Bambam grins. “Thanks again.”

 

***

 

Taehyung sits on the bus and tries to steady his breathing.

 _I’d do the same for you_.

He knows he’s overanalysing. Bambam probably meant for it to sound reassuring, Taehyung’s sure about that, but all it does is make him feel uneasy. Would that type of thing happen to him too if he came out? Random people harassing him on the street for something he can’t change?

Nothing much happened, by the looks of it, but it seems like it could have turned violent if Taehyung didn’t show up and stop them. He feels sick.

Taehyung remains motionless as the bus starts moving, trying and failing to get these worries out of his head.

Eventually the feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket shocks him out of his stupor. “Hello?” he says, picking up the phone.

“It’s me. Tae, is everything alright?” Jungkook says.

Taehyung blanches. All he’s said is a measly ‘hello’ and Jungkook can already tell that something’s off? “Fine, why?” he answers, ignoring the part of him that wants to tell Jungkook about the situation with Bambam. He doesn’t want to upset Jungkook or make him feel worried that people will start making fun of him here, not when he’s only just got away from that at his old school. Besides, it’s Bambam’s business; it isn’t really Taehyung’s place to say anything.

There’s a pause, and Taehyung can picture Jungkook frowning. “You just… usually call me as soon as you’re on the bus. I got worried when you didn’t.”

“It hasn’t been that long,” Taehyung says defensively, but then he checks his watch and his eyes widen.

“It’s been half an hour,” Jungkook replies, sounding concerned. “Tae, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Taehyung sighs. “Just a weird day. Tell me about you.”

“Um, okay,” Jungkook says, not sounding convinced but deciding not to push it anymore. “Well, I got officially invited to Youngjae’s Christmas party. I haven’t spoken to him much, but Bambam and Yugyeom will be there, plus some of the other people who we went to London with.”

“That’s great,” Taehyung smiles. “When is it?”

“The fourteenth,” Jungkook responds. “I was worried at first that it would be the same weekend as Jin’s, but luckily it’s a bit later.”

“Well Jin’s is a bit early for Christmas, to be honest,” Taehyung shrugs. “It’s because it’s a birthday thing as well, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees. “I feel so bad though; I didn’t realise it was actually his birthday _today_. I didn’t find out until lunch… I saw him in the morning and I didn’t say anything.”

“Don’t worry about it; you didn’t know,” Taehyung reassures him.

“By the way, are we still meeting on Friday night?” Jungkook asks. “I picked out some films for us to watch but then I realised we didn’t actually say for definite whether we were doing it.”

“Yeah, I’m good for Friday,” Taehyung responds softly, already wondering in his head how he can leave J-Hope’s house and head in the direction of Jungkook’s house – the opposite way to the bus stop – without seeming suspicious. Maybe he should just walk to the bus stop first, then go to Jungkook’s from there – but no, that route takes him past the café… He makes a mental note to find out whether LE has a shift on Friday night. God, why did he say yes to this date without thinking through the details?

“Good,” Jungkook breathes. “I should go now – I said I would Skype Junghwa tonight, but I wanted to talk to you first.”

Taehyung sometimes whines about how their one-hour-long phone conversations feel too short, and he’ll procrastinate for another 10 minutes just by dragging out the goodbyes. Jungkook has tactfully left 10 minutes of goodbye time before the actual time he’s scheduled to Skype with Junghwa, just so that he doesn’t end up being late. So far, this phone call has only lasted a couple of minutes, so Jungkook isn’t expecting it at all when all Taehyung responds with is a simple “Okay.”

There’s a pause.

“Didn’t you say you had to go?” Taehyung prompts on the other end of the line, wondering why Jungkook is still here.

Jungkook sighs. “Feel better, okay?” he says gently, before hanging up the phone.


	14. nothing left for me to do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung comes crashing back to reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy both the christmas parties woop woop (youngjae cameos at the end of this chapter yay!)

Taehyung and Jungkook meet up on Friday, as planned. Jungkook has chosen a horror movie for them to watch, because Taehyung insisted that he was fine with horror films and wouldn’t get scared; in fact, he even suggested that he would comfort Jungkook if necessary. But of course that isn’t necessary, because Jungkook finds films like this more funny than scary. _Taehyung_ , however, seems to have lied about his attitude towards horror films, considering the fact that they’re only halfway through the film and Taehyung has already given up watching, choosing instead to sit in Jungkook’s lap and hide his face in Jungkook’s t-shirt.

Taehyung pokes his head up warily, glancing at the screen to see another CGI zombie brutally murder a human, blood spewing everywhere, and he flinches. He refuses to scream at any of the scary parts, Jungkook notices, but he jumps a lot. Jungkook wonders whether he’s trying to be brave.

Jungkook carefully reaches for the DVD control and Taehyung flinches again, too enraptured in the plot not to be spooked when somebody moves unexpectedly. Jungkook suppresses a chuckle and pauses the film. “We don’t have to watch this, you know.”

Taehyung looks at Jungkook indignantly. “Why, are you scared?” he says obstinately.

Jungkook can’t suppress his laughter this time. “No, _you_ are,” he sniggers.

“I’m not scared,” Taehyung says adamantly.

“ _Sure_ ,” Jungkook snorts.

“I’m not!”

“Come on, let’s take a break,” Jungkook suggests.

“No, I have to find out what happens!” Taehyung pouts. Honestly, if he doesn’t see how it ends he’ll probably continue to be scared for the rest of the evening.

“Are you sure?” Jungkook mumbles, cupping Taehyung’s face with his hand and then sliding it down to his neck. “Because I kind of really want to kiss you.”

Taehyung’s breath catches in his throat. “The film can wait,” he agrees definitively, relaxing into Jungkook’s arms as he pulls him closer.

Taehyung lets himself be carried away by the kiss, revelling in the way Jungkook takes control, kissing him softly and prising his mouth open with his lips. Taehyung accidentally lets out a content hum when Jungkook’s tongue slips into his mouth, but Jungkook doesn’t comment on it; simply pulls Taehyung closer and tugs gently at his hair.

Taehyung has to admit that Jungkook is good at this kissing thing. Like, _really_ good. He doesn’t even have to do anything spectacular, because the simple fact that it’s _Jungkook_ who’s kissing him is enough. Taehyung leans closer, pushing Jungkook gently against the sofa and Jungkook slows the rhythm down to something soft and indulgent, toying with Taehyung’s tongue and Taehyung can’t help the whimper that escapes his mouth. Jungkook swallows the sound and kisses him harder.

_Ping!_

There’s a pause, both of them freezing in surprise, before Jungkook reluctantly pulls away and side-eyes his phone resignedly.

“Damn. I was enjoying that,” Taehyung mutters as he rests his forehead against Jungkook’s.

“I could tell,” Jungkook smirks, his eyes twinkling mischievously. He tilts his head to reconnect their lips, but then Jungkook’s phone pings again and Taehyung groans.

“Why didn’t you put that on silent?” he says frustratedly.

“I forgot,” Jungkook says sheepishly, reaching for the phone.

“Seriously, Jungkook,” Taehyung complains. “That would’ve completely freaked me out if it went off during the film!”

Jungkook grins. “So you admit you were scared?”

“Fuck off,” Taehyung grumbles. He looks at Jungkook curiously as he checks his messages. “What was the notification?”

“Jin’s sending us pictures of his food on the Pink Lady group chat,” he says, sending a quick thumbs up on the chat so that Jin doesn’t think Jungkook is ignoring him.

“Pictures of his food? Why?”

Jungkook shrugs. “It’s Jin. Anyway, I think tonight’s the night he’s out with Jisoo so he’s probably gloating. She’s agreed to pay for everything.”

“Really? For everything?” Taehyung asks with a disbelieving chuckle. “Does she want to go bankrupt?”

“Apparently so,” Jungkook smiles. He fiddles with his phone and puts it back on the table. “Okay. It’s on silent now.” He grins at Taehyung cheekily. “I’m all yours.”

Taehyung smiles tightly. Usually he would lean back in without responding, kissing Jungkook gently until they were both breathless. But tonight he feels on edge – and not just because of the film. He’s been feeling jumpy ever since the encounter with Bambam, and talking about the Pink Ladies makes Taehyung remember just how risky all of this is. Walking around in secret, going on dates, kissing and pretending that everything’s going to be fine – when it clearly isn’t. Try as he might, Taehyung can’t sneak himself back into the Jungkook-shaped bubble that he’s been living in for the past month. Day by day, reality is slowly crashing down on him and he fears that the safety he felt around Jungkook is lost and maybe irretrievable.

Taehyung gulps and rests his head on Jungkook’s shoulder, trying to soak up his warmth in compensation for the coldness he feels settling in his bones. “Let’s just finish the film,” he mumbles.

Jungkook glances at him curiously, but obliges. He presses play on the film and rests his head against Taehyung’s, holding Taehyung a little closer than he needs to just to stop the feeling nagging at him that something’s wrong.

 

***

 

On Saturday night, Jisoo and Rosé are at Jin’s house helping to set up for the party while Jin prepares the food. After checking that Jisoo can do without her help for a few minutes, Rosé walks cautiously into the kitchen, watching Jin wordlessly as he chops up vegetables.

“You okay, Ro?” he asks after a minute, still looking down at his celery sticks.

Rosé shuffles from side to side on her feet. “Do you know any good puns?” she blurts out suddenly.

Jin holds up an un-chopped celery stick in his hand and grins. “Not nece _celery_!” He laughs at his own joke and Rosé smiles half-heartedly. “Why?” Jin asks.

“I need to impress J-Hope,” Rosé says decisively.

“You need to _impress_ him?” Jin frowns. “Ro... you do realise you’re already dating him, right? The wooing stage is over.”

Rosé cringes. “I’m going to do you a favour and pretend you didn’t just say ‘wooing’.”

Jin rolls his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with my vocabulary, thank you very much,” he says dignifiedly.

“You sound like my mum,” she combats. “Anyway, I _know_ that J-Hope and I are dating, but that doesn’t mean I should stop trying to make him laugh or give up on trying to understand his interests.”

“So… you want to impress him,” Jin concedes. “And you think _puns_ are the way to do that?”

Rosé scowls. “J-Hope likes puns,” she says defensively. “I think it will show that I care, and that I’m making an effort.”

“Well, if you really think so,” Jin shrugs.

“I do,” she nods.

Jin smiles kindly. “You can have my celery one if you want,” he says generously.

Rosé smiles. “No, that one was awful.”

“Hey!” Jin scolds.

“Anyway, when’s everyone else getting here? I’m hungry,” she mumbles as she munches on some of Jin’s freshly-chopped vegetables.

“Why are you eating the food I’m preparing for tonight?” he groans.

“Why are you preparing vegetables anyway?” Rosé combats. “It’s a party.”

“It’s _my_ party,” Jin exclaims. “And we’ll eat healthy food if I want us to. I’m cooking everyone dinner.”

Rosé laughs. “Is there even alcohol?”

“Did you not hear me say ‘healthy’?” Jin asks pointedly.

“Fair enough,” Rosé says with a roll of her eyes, before getting out her phone and texting Jimin and J-Hope to bring some alcohol with them. She’s determined to make this party fun, even if it means that she has to take the initiative and plan certain aspects of it without Jin’s consultation. “So when is everyone else getting here?” she repeats as she looks up from her phone.

“Soon,” Jin answers informatively. “And I want the food to be ready when they arrive, so I need to get this finished as quickly as possible! Can you give me a hand?”

“Sure,” Rosé shrugs, because she has nothing better to do.

 

***

 

After they all finish eating dinner in the living room in front of the TV, Jin announces that it’s cake time, so he wanders through to the kitchen as Jimin excitedly turns out the lights. Rosé and Jisoo hurry out of the room to help with the candles and insist that Jin shouldn’t be bringing through his own birthday cake, but then they look at the cake and frown.

“Jin, you got your age wrong,” Jisoo says, nonplussed.

Jin laughs. “This one isn’t mine. It’s for LE.”

Jisoo’s eyes widen. “Really? Was it her birthday this week as well?”

“No, it’s on Tuesday,” Jin replies.

“I didn’t even know she had her birthday this month,” Rosé admits, feeling a little guilty even though she and LE don’t exactly get along.

“She never really mentions it because she doesn’t like the attention,” Jin explains. “Hani told me about it. Apparently she’s got used to ignoring her birthday every year because no one really cared about it when she was growing up, so we decided it would be nice to let her celebrate just this once,” he says distractedly as he fiddles with the candles. “I would’ve thrown her a separate party altogether but Hani said that would be too much and might make her feel uncomfortable.” He looks at his arrangement of candles and grins. “Does one of you have the lighter?”

“Here!” Jisoo says excitedly, grinning manically when she flicks the switch and sees the fire.

“Okay, _I’ll_ take that,” Rosé says carefully, taking the lighter from Jisoo’s hands and lighting the candles. “Jin, where’s _your_ cake?” she asks. She then looks at him worriedly as she realises that it’s unusual for people to make their own birthday cakes. “Hang on, you didn’t leave it up to one of us to make it, right? I just assumed you’d want to make it yourself because you like cooking so much…”

Jin grins. “It’s on the counter just over there,” he says, pointing it out, “and of course I wanted to make it myself. But it’s nice to know you care enough to worry about it.”

“I wasn’t worrying,” Rosé snaps, walking over to look at his cake so that he can’t see how her face is flushed red with embarrassment.

“Can I arrange the candles on yours?” Jisoo asks excitedly.

“Of course you can,” Jin chuckles, handing her the half-used packet of candles. “Be quick, though. I want to do LE’s first and I’m worried the candles are going to blow out before I even get the cake to her.”

The girls grin and quickly finish arranging the candles before they exit the kitchen, starting to sing Happy Birthday just as they get into the living room.

Everyone else joins in when Jin appears with the cake, but then there’s a brief moment of confusion when Jin, Jisoo and Rosé all sing “Happy birthday to LE” just as Jin places the birthday cake in front of LE. She stares at it with wide eyes and then looks up at Jin, confused. Jin grins back and gestures for her to blow out the candles as the song comes to an end, which she does after a moment’s hesitation.

“Happy birthday LE!” Hani squeals. “I know you’re weird about your birthday, but I told Jin about it and we decided we should get you a cake and let you celebrate too. And this way you only get a third of the attention, because we’re celebrating Jin’s birthday and Christmas as well!” she explains proudly.

LE looks round at her friends, still in shock. But then she smiles widely. “Thank you, guys. This means a lot,” she admits.

“No problem,” Jin smiles back, pleased that he could make her happy. “I hope you like the cake! I made yours chocolate because I wanted coffee for mine and I figured chocolate was a safe flavour.”

“Chocolate is great,” LE responds.

“You can cut it in a minute! I’ll just need to go and get –” Jin’s sentence is cut off by Rosé and Jisoo reappearing and singing Happy Birthday again as they place Jin’s birthday cake in front of him. He blushes and smiles happily at them.

“Make a wish!” Jimin says excitably.

Jin closes his eyes and blows out the candles as they all cheer.

“Right!” Jisoo says decisively. “Now that’s over, let’s get out the alcohol.”

Jin stares at her. “I specifically said _no alcohol_.”

“No, you said you weren’t _providing_ any alcohol,” Rosé corrects him cheekily. “You didn’t say we couldn’t bring our own.” With that, almost everyone vacates the room to locate their individual alcohol stashes, leaving Jin and Jungkook alone in the room.

“Happy birthday, Jin,” Jungkook says quietly. “Sorry I didn’t say anything on your actual birthday; I didn’t realise when it was,” he admits awkwardly.

“That’s okay,” Jin smiles. “I wasn’t expecting you to know anyway. I’m just glad you could make it tonight. Jimin says you have another Christmas party?”

“Oh yeah, but that’s not until next week,” Jungkook replies. “And if they clashed I would have come to yours.”

Jin chuckles. “That’s sweet.”

“Not as sweet as this sweet rum,” Jisoo says, showcasing the bottle enticingly as she drifts back into the room.

“Oh, I love rum!” Jin says happily. “Will you pour me some?”

Jisoo raises her eyebrows. “You can’t tell us you’re not providing any alcohol and then expect to steal other people’s,” she says pointedly as she grabs a cushion from the sofa and places it on the floor next to Jungkook, sitting down next to him gracefully.

“I suppose I’m bringing out the alcohol after all, then,” Jin sighs resignedly, before excusing himself from the room.

Jisoo pours some of the rum into her paper cup, already half-full of Diet Coke, before she smiles at Jungkook. “Did you want some?”

“Oh, no, thanks. I don’t drink,” Jungkook says quickly.

“Alright,” Jisoo shrugs, taking a big gulp. “In that case, you may end up being the designated sober person in our friendship group tonight. Someone’s going to need to make sure nobody throws up or passes out,” she says nonchalantly.

Jungkook blanches. “That sounds like a lot of responsibility.”

“Yeah,” Jisoo agrees, taking another swig of her drink.

The others slowly drift back into the room and they agree after a lot of deliberation to play a game of Truth Or Dare.

“This is such a stupid game,” Suga mutters as they sit in a circle and try to decide who’s going to go first.

“Stop being a party pooper,” Hani grins.

“It’s for 10-year-olds,” he insists.

“I think it’s fun,” Jimin replies happily.

Suga opens his mouth to retort, but then thinks better of it. J-Hope and V both smirk at him knowingly, understanding that only Jimin has the power to shut Suga up like that, and Suga glowers back at them.

“Are we even inventive enough to come up with good questions?” LE asks dubiously.

“I’m already searching for ideas on my phone,” Jisoo giggles. She’s already tipsy and has tried to cuddle up to Jungkook twice, who has pushed her away on both occasions.

“Sorry,” Rosé says to Jungkook and Jungkook does a double take. Is Rosé really apologising? Jungkook contemplates passively whether she’s more willing to apologise if it’s on someone else’s behalf. “She’s a complete lightweight,” Rosé continues obliviously before allowing Jisoo to cuddle up to her instead.

“Are we ready to start?” Hani says excitedly.

“Not yet; J-Hope and V have disappeared,” LE responds with a frown.

After a minute J-Hope and V reappear, clutching a gigantic glass full of murky brown liquid and looking extremely pleased with themselves.

“What’s in there?” LE asks warily.

“Just a concoction V and I made in the kitchen with Jin’s alcohol stash,” J-Hope says cryptically, before setting it down in the middle of their circle.

“That didn’t actually answer the question,” Suga points out, also feeling apprehensive. If J-Hope and V mixed the drinks together on their own with no supervision, there was nobody there to keep them under control. Someone has to make sure the mix isn’t lethal.

“It’s mainly spirits,” V answers with a wide grin. “Also beer, cider, WKD, something in an old, rusty bottle that we didn’t recognise… and a few surprises as well,” he smirks.

Suga rolls his eyes. “We’re all going to die.”

“Is this the punishment drink then?” Rosé asks.

“Yep!” J-Hope says excitedly as he takes a seat next to his girlfriend, V squeezing into the circle on his other side. “If you don’t do your dare properly or you refuse to answer a question, you have to take a sip.”

“Just a sip?” Rosé frowns. “Not down the whole thing?”

“If you did that, you probably _would_ die,” V pipes up happily.

Rosé glares at him. “Thanks for the warning. Maybe you should think about downing it yourself.”

“Now, now, let’s all play nicely,” V says patronisingly. “We’re here to celebrate, after all. Okay!” He claps his hands, gathering everybody’s attention. “Who’s starting?”

V starts, because apparently that’s what you get when you ask such a question. He chooses ‘truth’, because he’s too sober right now to do any stupid dares, and when he gets asked what he would do if he was invisible for a day, he’s thinking ‘I would be myself’ but he tells them “I’d go to your house and haunt you, J-Hope”.

They play the first few rounds, using suggestions from the Internet and also their own idiotic imaginations, and after a while they’re all suitably tipsy (except Jungkook, of course – and Jisoo, who’s now full-blown drunk). At some point, J-Hope gets dared to rap about the person sitting on his left, which coincidentally is Rosé, so he gets Suga to tap out a beat on the floor for him as he improvises, rapping surprisingly coherently for someone who’s had a few drinks. He chants about how great Rosé is and how lucky he feels to be dating her and he only stops after the third verse when Rosé cuts him off with a passionate kiss. “Okay, let’s move onto V!” Jimin announces, feeling a little mortified at having to witness such a blatant display of affection.

Jungkook is having a lot of fun, finding that he especially enjoys laughing at everybody’s alcohol-induced behaviours, until it’s his turn to go again and Jisoo asks him, “What happened on the worst day of your life?”

Jungkook gulps, the smile leaving his face almost instantaneously. He recalls the day everybody at school found out he was gay and started whispering about him; calling him names in the corridors; mocking him behind his back. The day it happened was almost a year ago now, but it’s still a painful memory to relive. He never explained the full details to V – hell, he didn’t even tell _Junghwa_ everything that happened, and he tells her everything – so he definitely doesn’t feel comfortable talking about it now. Not in front of all his new friends, who are probably too tipsy to be fully sympathetic. Especially when they’re supposed to be here to celebrate.

He looks around at his friends, all waiting on him to answer. He makes eye contact with V, and he promptly looks down at the cup of lemonade in his hands. “Please don’t make me talk about it,” he mumbles.

“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Jimin says consolingly as he looks at his best friend worriedly. It’s moments like this that make Jimin think Jungkook isn’t as okay as he always seems.

“Then he has to drink,” Jisoo says with certainty, picking up the glass in the middle of the circle and thrusting it into Jungkook’s hands.

Jungkook eyes it worriedly. There isn’t too much left, maybe only a few sips, considering a few of the others have had to take the penalty when refusing their own truths and dares. Jungkook doesn’t blame Jimin for refusing to strip (that dare was courtesy of Suga, of course, who is apparently much more ballsy once he’s had two glasses of whiskey), or LE for refusing to tell everybody what life was really like growing up in a family of criminals – but they were all fine with accepting the penalty.

Jungkook cautiously lifts the drink up to his nose and smells it, instantly feeling overwhelmed by the stench of alcohol. Jungkook, in contrast, is definitely not okay with accepting his penalty.

V watches Jungkook’s face screw up in disgust at the smell, and he feels a wave of guilt rush over him as he remembers exactly what went into that glass. Of course there’s nothing harmful in there – that is, if you ignore the fact that consuming copious amounts of alcohol is inherently harmful – but he knows how strong he and J-Hope made it taste and he isn’t sure if he can put Jungkook through that.

Before he has a chance to consider his words, his alcohol-addled brain causes him to shout out, “That’s not fair!” The others look at him in confusion, including Jungkook, and he bites his lip worriedly. _Shit. Didn’t think that one through._ “I mean. He doesn’t even drink. We should give him a different punishment,” he explains feebly, trying to justify himself.

“You’re the one who made the drink, V,” LE scoffs. “ _I_ had to drink it. And, FYI, it’s disgusting. But my point is – it’s too late for you to start reconsidering the options. Jungkook has to drink.” (As Jungkook has discovered this evening, LE is much more talkative when she’s a little bit drunk.)

“No,” V pouts. “ _I_ made it. So _I_ get to choose who drinks it.”

“Why do you _care_?” Suga asks, already feeling exhausted by the conversation. He can’t be bothered to have an argument – and over a game of Truth Or Dare, no less! He _told_ everyone this was a bad idea.

V smiles nervously, because Suga’s right; V shouldn’t care. And if it were anybody else, abstinent or otherwise, V would be one of the people egging them on to drink and receive their rightfully-earned punishment.

But it’s Jungkook.

“I wouldn’t want to tell everyone about the worst day of my life,” V shrugs, trying to seem casual about it. It’s not exactly a lie, even if V doesn’t have a particular day in mind right now. As he thinks about it, V considers that perhaps the worst day of his life was only a few days ago, when he saw Bambam being pushed around by those homophobes. Nothing happened to V, of course, but it made him scared and nervous and he would be lying if he said it didn’t affect his behaviour towards Jungkook on their date last night. So, no, his statement isn’t a lie: there’s no way that he would be willing to explain that day to his friends, or why it made him feel so uneasy.

Hani snorts at V’s explanation. “Yeah, but you’d also be the type of person to refuse to answer a question just so you could have the free booze,” she guffaws, accidentally kicking LE in the shin as she shifts positions to reach for her drink. (Hani is an extremely elegant and put-together person, especially when drunk, and anybody who says otherwise will have an elegant and put-together drunk to answer to.)

“That’s true,” V acknowledges. “Okay, in that case, I refuse to answer my next three questions.” He stands up without awaiting a reply, strides over to Jungkook and takes the glass out of his hands before Jungkook has a chance to say anything. He then downs the rest of the drink, before setting the glass back down on the carpet. “That’s that sorted. Shall we move on?”

They all stare at him in complete bewilderment, until Jisoo shrugs and shouts excitedly, “My turn!”

Unfortunately, the drink V and J-Hope concocted really was very strong, and after a few minutes V forgets about his refusal to answer his next few questions and joins in with the game again. Soon enough, it’s his turn and Hani’s squeaking that she found a good one on the website. “Have you ever had a crush on anyone here?” she asks excitedly.

V doesn’t hear LE telling her that that’s a stupid question, because they all know that the answer is ‘yes’. He’s too busy looking directly at Jungkook, his gaze lingering for far too long before he remembers to look away. “No,” he lies.

Rosé stares at him incredulously for a moment before storming out of the room.

V stares after her in realisation. “Shit. I forgot she was in here.”

J-Hope rolls his eyes. “Can you at least _try_ to act like a decent human being?” he mutters before following Rosé out of the room.

V takes a big gulp of his drink, feeling ashamed and a little guilty for making Rosé feel bad. He genuinely didn’t mean anything by it – he was just so focused on acting like he doesn’t have a crush on Jungkook that he completely forgot Rosé was there. Now he feels like an idiot. And a complete dickhead, but what else is new.

“I told you. This is a stupid game,” Suga announces as he stands up determinedly. “Jimin, help me fix the music?” he then asks softly. “I think we need to lift the mood a little.”

“Sure,” Jimin beams, eagerly leaping up to help Suga as they exit the room in search of some speakers. (Jin would point out that neither of them know where to look, but he kindly decides to give them some alone time before he goes to assist them in their search.)

After a few minutes of idle conversation, J-Hope reappears.

“Is she okay?” V asks apprehensively.

J-Hope scoffs. “If you cared, you should’ve thought about that before you said something so stupid.”

V bites his lip. J-Hope isn’t usually so harsh with him, but whenever it concerns Rosé he gets defensive. “It wasn’t deliberate.”

J-Hope shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter. Anyway, she said that she didn’t want to talk with someone who was more drunk than her, so she basically kicked me out.”

“But almost everybody’s more drunk than her; she’s such a heavyweight,” Hani proclaims.

“Heavyweight?” LE questions.

“The opposite of a lightweight,” she explains cheerfully.

“I’m not sure that’s how it works, Hani,” Jisoo giggles.

“Yeah. You say ‘heavyweight’ and I think of boxing,” J-Hope agrees.

“Hani, you’re a heavyweight,” V states, looking at her curiously. “Why don’t you go to talk to her?”

Hani grins at the fact that V is using her terminology, until his words sink in. “No,” she laughs cruelly. “I don’t like her. And anyway, she doesn’t like me either, so overall that just sounds like a really bad plan.”

“But you’re the least drunk person here,” LE groans.

“Jungkook isn’t drinking,” Jisoo pipes up.

Jungkook looks at them worriedly. “You want _me_ to talk to her?” He stares at them incredulously as a couple of them nod. “But… but she doesn’t like me, either.”

“She doesn’t like that many of us,” LE points out. “It’s worth a shot, at least.”

“Please, Jungkook?” J-Hope asks dejectedly, and Jungkook quickly gives in. He may not be overly fond of Rosé, but J-Hope has always been kind and welcoming to him and Jungkook doesn’t want to sit here knowing that he’s made the most smiley person in the room miserable for the night.

“Okay, I’ll go,” he sighs, standing up and heading out of the room. He quickly comes back in. “Where is she?”

V laughs, unable to hold it in. “You left before knowing where you were going?”

“Shut up. You’re drunk,” Jungkook accuses.

“Okay,” V acquiesces, because it’s true. And really, V probably shouldn’t be instigating conversations with Jungkook when he’s like this, lacking a filter and all. If he opens his mouth again he’ll probably do something stupid like call Jungkook cute or tell him to kiss him, so really it’s best to stay quiet.

“She’s upstairs in Jin’s room,” J-Hope responds, so Jungkook nods and leaves again.

 

***

 

When Jungkook finds Rosé, she looks the saddest Jungkook has ever seen her.

“Are you okay?” he asks nervously as he enters the room.

Rosé sniffs. “This is so embarrassing. I wouldn’t even care if I wasn’t drunk. I hate that alcohol makes me emotional.”

“It’s not bad to be emotional,” Jungkook consoles, hesitantly taking a seat next to her on the floor.

“It’s stupid,” she mumbles.

“Are you upset?” Jungkook enquires, before he realises it’s a stupid question to ask. She may not be crying, but it’s pretty obvious that she’s upset.

“No,” she sighs, which surprises Jungkook.

“You seem upset,” he says stupidly.

“Well I’m not,” she snaps, but then she sighs and visibly deflates. “I just feel so… so _humiliated_. I’m not upset, okay?” she says insistently. “I don’t still have a crush on V, or anything ridiculous like that.”

Weirdly enough, she seems to be in a talkative mood right now. Jungkook braces himself, because he’s never really had a proper conversation with Rosé before and he isn’t sure how he feels about their first heart-to-heart being about V.

“I really like J-Hope and I’m happy that V broke up with me if it meant I got to have this instead,” Rosé says firmly. She looks at him resignedly. “Did anyone ever tell you what happened between me and V?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “Just that you were dating for 6 months until you broke up.”

Rosé laughs humourlessly. “Well then, let me fill you in. He broke up with me the day before my birthday.” She looks at Jungkook, her expression a mix of hurt and anger. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m over him. I just… I guess I’m still not over the rejection I felt when he threw me aside like that. Our relationship lasted six times longer than any of his other relationships, and I really thought he cared. I thought maybe we _had_ something. And then he went and did _that_ and I just felt like such an _idiot_.” She looks at him imploringly, the hurt in her tone now more prominent than the anger. “You get it, right?”

“I suppose,” Jungkook answers, feeling oddly sympathetic for Rosé. It doesn’t necessarily make her a good person, but at least now he can understand where the bitterness comes from. “But – but you’re not an idiot,” Jungkook adds. “As you said, you lasted so much longer than any of his other relationships.”

“We used to be such good friends,” Rosé laments. “I never should have dated him. It ruined everything.”

Jungkook frowns. “Couldn’t you still be friends, though?”

“Not now,” Rosé says with a shake of her head. “After everything, I don’t see that happening.” She sighs. “Jungkook, I know you don’t like me. But I don’t want you to hate me, either. I want you to know where I’m coming from,” she admits. “Do you realise how shit it makes you feel, when you really like someone and you realise that you’re not good enough for them? Even for one of your best friends?”

Jungkook eyes her warily, wondering when she got so sensitive and open. He assumes it’s the effect of the alcohol. “Why are you telling me all of this?” he ends up asking.

Rosé snorts. “You don’t care,” she deduces. “Okay. Whatever.” She stands up, brushing herself off for no reason except to give her hands something to do. “Shall we go back downstairs? I think I hear music.”

“Rosé…” Jungkook starts, but Rosé shakes her head.

“Don’t, Jungkook. I don’t want your pity.” With that, she disappears out of the door and Jungkook is left alone, wondering how V could do something so hurtful to one of his best friends.

 

***

 

When V wakes up the next morning, he feels slightly disoriented and extremely hungover. He would go back to bed but he also feels super hungry, as he tends to after a night spent drinking far too much, so he decides to head into the kitchen and see if anyone else is up.

He sluggishly stands up, ignoring his headache, and makes his way through the corridor to the kitchen. “What are we eating?” he asks the room, his gaze fixed on the floor so he doesn’t have to deal with the bright morning light. “Who the fuck opened the curtains?” he mutters under his breath.

“Uh,” a familiar voice says and V’s gaze shoots up, before he winces again at the brightness. “That would be me, sorry,” Jungkook mumbles, already hurrying over to the curtains. “I can close them, if you want.”

“No, um, no, it’s okay,” V mumbles back. He scans the room quickly, making sure that nobody else is there before he smiles softly. “Morning.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Morning to you, too. You feeling okay?”

V smiles sheepishly. “Been better.” He looks around the room again. “Where’s everyone else?”

“I think they’re all still asleep,” Jungkook says. “It’s pretty early.”

“It is?” V frowns.

“Yeah, 8am last time I checked,” Jungkook says distractedly as he wanders round the room and starts opening cupboards. “You don’t think Jin will mind me snooping, do you? I’m just really hungry and I don’t know where he keeps the food.”

V grins, before coming to stand beside Jungkook and opening a cupboard to their right where he knows the snacks are kept.

Jungkook smiles and reaches for a cereal bar, but then he freezes. “Won’t Jin kill me if I take some of his food?” he asks warily.

V raises his eyebrows. “Good point.”

Jungkook scowls and crosses his arms. “You already knew that.”

V shrugs. “It was your decision. I was just helping out a friend.”

“But you helped! You’re an accessory to the crime!” Jungkook accuses.

V laughs. “Shut up, you’ll wake up the whole house.”

“Who the fuck’s yelling?” Jisoo asks as she stumbles into the room.

“Told you,” V murmurs as he takes a surreptitious step away from Jungkook.

She squints at them. “What’s going on?”

V smirks. “I was just warning Jungkook of the dangers of stealing Jin’s food.”

Jungkook glares at him. “That’s not what was happening,” he says hotly.

“Seriously, be quiet,” Jisoo moans. “God, can you close that door? I think I’ll puke if I have to look at any food.”

“Gross,” V mutters as he pushes the cupboard door shut.

“But I’m hungry…” Jungkook mumbles pitifully.

“Eat somewhere else,” Jisoo snaps in response as she takes a seat at the kitchen table.

Jungkook frowns. “This is the kitchen. _You_ eat somewhere else.” V stifles a laugh and Jungkook looks at him curiously before he realises that his comeback doesn’t make any sense. “Uh… I mean…”

“Shut up, please,” Jisoo groans, so Jungkook closes his mouth obediently and smiles at her uncomfortably.

“She’s always like this when she’s hungover,” V explains as he pats Jisoo comfortingly on the shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” she mumbles sleepily, resting her head on the table. “Just… be quiet. I’m gonna go back to sleep.”

Jungkook stares at Jisoo, completely perplexed, but he decides not to question it. He sits at the table next to her and waits patiently for someone else to arrive and break the silence, looking around at the room curiously while V plays on his phone.

“What’s up, people!” Hani cheers excitedly as she bursts into the room, a disgruntled LE and a bleary-eyed J-Hope following behind her.

Jisoo’s head snaps up. “Stop being loud,” she snaps.

“But it’s in my nature,” Hani grins unapologetically. “How is everyone this morning?”

“Well, I would’ve preferred not to be woken up by you screaming in my ear,” LE grunts.

“You didn’t wake up when I asked nicely,” Hani shrugs.

“You could’ve just left me asleep,” LE snarls.

“Sure, but where’s the fun in that?” she chortles. “How are you this morning, V?” she asks as she sits down next to him and puts an arm around his shoulders.

V looks up from his phone and smiles at her. “Not too bad. Not as chipper as you, though.”

“I _am_ chipper,” Hani nods enthusiastically. “What a _great_ word.”

V snorts at her response and then turns back to his phone.

LE stares at Hani and then turns to J-Hope beseechingly. “What’s _wrong_ with her?”

J-Hope shrugs. “Beats me. She’s your best friend.”

“So are you still feeling an inexplicable urge to protect Jungkook from our bad influence?” Hani continues casually and V’s head snaps back up.

“Huh?” V answers gormlessly.

“Don’t you remember? You made a big deal about how he shouldn’t have to drink the penalty drink, and then you finished the whole thing yourself just so he wouldn’t be able to.” She laughs, then, as if it’s the funniest thing in the world. As if her sentence doesn’t make V feel like his world is caving in.

V stares at her in unconcealed surprise, although he manages to hide the panic. “I don’t remember.”

J-Hope snorts as he takes a seat across from Hani at the table. “I’m not surprised. You were pretty far gone already, and after that punishment drink I’m shocked you remember anything from last night at all, to be honest.”

“I’m with you on that one,” LE nods, her facial expression disgusted. “That drink was foul. What the fuck did you guys put in there?”

V grins. “You don’t want to know,” he says teasingly, but inwardly he’s freaking out. Why did he do that? What an idiot. He’s already making J-Hope suspicious, and now Hani’s curious enough to ask him about Jungkook… This is bad, really bad. V needs to take a serious step back, Jesus Christ.

Luckily, before V can say anything too defensive, Jin shows up with Rosé in tow and announces that he’s planned a big breakfast for everybody before they leave. (Jisoo groans and vacates the room.)

 

***

 

Taehyung tries not to let the incident at the party affect how he acts around Jungkook, but he also finds himself failing miserably.

He finds that he’s becoming more cautious about everything that he says and does. He has to be especially careful now, given the recent close shaves he’s had with people finding out what’s going on; first J-Hope’s talk with him about how he’s worried about him, then Jungkook’s slip-up with his name (which didn’t bother him at the time but now plays on his mind near constantly) and finally the incident at the party where his drunken mess of a brain made him forget that this thing with Jungkook is meant to be a _secret._

He’s suddenly hyper-aware of the other people with him on the bus ride home, wondering whether he’s being too obvious, so his phone conversations with Jungkook become more self-conscious until he gives up altogether, choosing to send Jungkook a few texts instead.

Taehyung still wishes Jungkook good luck on the day of his Music performance, and listens attentively when Jungkook rings him afterwards to tell him how it went. He tells Jungkook that he’s really pleased it went well, but then he quickly makes a half-hearted excuse about needing to do homework, ending the call before they can talk about anything more personal. V can’t see another way around it – there’s nothing left for him to do except distance himself from Jungkook until their friends stop being suspicious.

Jungkook doesn’t know what he did wrong, but he thinks that maybe Taehyung is particularly busy at the moment, or that perhaps he just needs some space. Jungkook gives it to him.

 

***

 

When the weekend comes and it’s time to go to Youngjae’s Christmas party, Jungkook is relieved because it means that he can get out of his head for a while and simply enjoy the company of his new friends. He hardly knows Youngjae (he isn’t entirely sure whether he could even pick the boy out of a line-up, but he would make a good attempt), but he arrives with Yugyeom and Bambam so it isn’t an issue. There are also plenty of people he talked to in London who he sees at the party and has pleasant conversations with. However, when tipsiness gives way to ignoring boundaries and personal space, Jungkook finds Yugyeom and asks whether they can find a quieter place to sit, where there aren’t any drunken people making Jungkook feel uncomfortable. (Yugyeom had kindly agreed not to drink too much tonight, just on the basis that Jungkook wanted a somewhat sober friend to turn to in times of need. Bambam, on the other hand, had already decided he was going to get smashed, saying something about how it’s normal not to remember the finer details of Youngjae’s parties – a tradition that he’s unwilling to break.)

They find a spot in the hallway that’s relatively empty, where the music is merely a dull thud in the background, and they chat to each other for a while until the host of the party finds them.

“Hey, Yugyeom!” the boy that Jungkook vaguely recognises as Youngjae shouts as he walks over. “What are you doing over here, away from the party?”

Yugyeom smiles as he sees Youngjae approaching. “Jungkook was getting a bit suffocated by the drunken atmosphere so we thought we’d step away from it for a while.”

“Ah,” he says knowingly, swaying a little on the spot but quickly righting himself. He turns to Jungkook, smiling brightly. “You’re Jungkook, then? I don’t think we’ve spoken much before, but Yugyeom assures me you’re a decent guy.”

Jungkook smiles back awkwardly, but he doesn’t reply because he isn’t sure what to say. If he agrees then that seems cocky, but if he disagrees then that’s plain weird.

Youngjae looks at Jungkook, waiting for a response as his smile becomes less friendly and more confused. Jungkook gulps and smiles harder.

“He’s not that talkative around new people,” Yugyeom explains, taking the pressure off Jungkook to respond, which he’s grateful for.

“Got it,” Youngjae laughs. “Well, I’ll leave you two alone, then,” he smirks, and Jungkook doesn’t understand why but he gets the feeling Youngjae is implying something with those words.

“Right,” Yugyeom says shortly, and that also makes Jungkook confused because Yugyeom usually has a lot more to say than one word answers.

“I’ll see you guys later,” he says as turns to leave. “By the way, mistletoe’s scattered about all upstairs,” he adds, throwing a casual wink at Yugyeom. “Be a bit of a waste to get him all the way to the party and not even make the most of it, right?” he grins before disappearing around the corner.

Jungkook frowns. “What’s he talking about?” he questions, bewildered.

Yugyeom smiles tightly. “Don’t worry, just ignore him. He thinks he’s being funny.”

“I didn’t get it,” Jungkook shrugs. “Why did he mention mistletoe? I thought that was only used for when people wanted to kiss.”

Yugyeom grimaces. “Okay, here’s the thing.” He sighs frustratedly. “I wasn’t going to say anything… but I guess after that, I kind of need to explain.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh. Explain what?” he asks obliviously.

Yugyeom pauses, reluctant to speak, but Jungkook waits for him and eventually he gathers the courage. “I think I like you as more than a friend,” he says hesitantly, seeming extremely nervous.

“Oh,” Jungkook says awkwardly, his eyes widening in barely-concealed alarm. So Taehyung was right? “I – really?” he asks tightly. He isn’t entirely sure what to say. There’s a slight pause until Jungkook admits, “I had no idea.”

Yugyeom smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, well, I’m not good at the whole flirting thing. You probably thought I was just being friendly.”

Jungkook gulps. He remembers all the things Yugyeom did when they were together that Taehyung pointed out to him, and Jungkook remembers dismissing him, thinking that Taehyung was overanalysing. He wonders now whether maybe he should have paid more attention.

Yugyeom still looks like he’s waiting for a response, so Jungkook shakes his head slightly; an apology for not feeling the same. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jungkook confesses. “I mean – we’re friends. We’re good as friends.”

Yugyeom laughs slightly, although it’s a sad laugh. Jungkook isn’t sure he’s heard Yugyeom laugh sadly before, and he feels awful for being the cause of it. “Yeah, I had a feeling you’d say that,” he sighs.

“I – I’m sorry,” Jungkook says, cringing slightly. “I really don’t want this to make things awkward between us.”

Yugyeom shakes his head with a small smile. “Don’t worry, it won’t. Let’s just forget it happened, okay?”

Jungkook frowns. “I can’t just forget it happened,” he says, wondering why it feels like a repeat of when he and Taehyung agreed to forget about all that went on over summer. He’s learnt from experience that ‘forgetting’ doesn’t really work for him.

“I don’t want things to change, though,” Yugyeom insists. “I like being friends with you; I don’t want to ruin it.”

Jungkook’s lips quirk up into a small smile, feeling relieved that Yugyeom finds their friendship so important to him. He doesn’t want to ruin it either, he realises, even if things will be a little strange between them until Yugyeom moves on. “That sounds like a good plan to me.”

“Great,” Yugyeom exhales sharply, apparently relieved. “Thanks for being so cool about it. I swear, I didn’t mean to start crushing on you, it just kind of happened. I’m really sorry,” he says nervously.

Jungkook smiles kindly. “Don’t be. It’s flattering, at least.”

“Yeah,” Yugyeom chuckles self-consciously. “Um. Shall we get back to the rest of the party, then?”

“Yeah, okay.”

 

***

 

“I heard that Yugyeom asked you out when we were at the party,” Bambam says to Jungkook when they see each other at the beginning of dance class on Tuesday.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Who told you?” How did word get out about their conversation? It was a really awkward moment for them and Jungkook doesn’t know if he can take the other people at dance asking questions about it.

Bambam laughs. “Yugyeom did. Who else would’ve known?”

Jungkook sighs. “Right.”

“I heard that you let him down gently,” Bambam continues and Jungkook nods.

“I said we’d just be better as friends – but Bambam… why didn’t you warn me?” he says, his voice small. “He’s, like, your best friend, right? You must have known.”

Bambam shrugs. “He didn’t tell me about it until after he confessed. I guess he felt embarrassed or something, I don’t know. He told me he wasn’t even planning on saying anything to you until Youngjae kind of ruined it.”

Jungkook grimaces. “Well how did Youngjae know?”

Bambam chortles. “You think he’d have just given away an invite to one of his infamous parties without a proper reason? He practically had to announce that he was crushing on you for you to be let in, apparently.”

Jungkook scowls. “I wish I hadn’t gone now.”

Bambam shrugs. “At least everything’s out in the open. What did V say?”

Jungkook winces, because things definitely aren’t out in the open. “I didn’t tell him,” he admits quietly.

Bambam gapes. “Why?” he says accusatorily. “You saw how weird he got about Yugyeom when he was just _sitting next_ to you – you don’t think he’d want to know that he asked you out?”

Jungkook gulps, because he knows Bambam’s right, but… “Things have kind of been weird between us lately. We didn’t speak much last week and I don’t want to make things feel any more strained…”

“How long has it been now?” Bambam asks curiously, before checking his phone for the date and nodding. “Yep, around the one-month mark. Bang on time.”

Jungkook scowls at him, feeling himself getting angry. “It’s not… I _told_ you; it’s not like that with us.” He takes a deep breath to calm down, because he’s not entirely sure he believes himself anymore. “We’re going through a rough patch, that’s it. We’ll be fine.” He looks down at the floor. “I think we’ll be fine.”

Bambam frowns at his reaction. “I was just kidding,” he says warily, and he wants to ask Jungkook whether things are _really_ okay between him and V, but Jungkook looks so disheartened that Bambam bites his tongue. “You should tell him,” he says carefully instead.

“I know,” Jungkook sighs. “But I figured I should at least tell him in person. Maybe I’ll catch him at the end of practice.”

Jungkook doesn’t catch him at the end of practice. V still shows up to class, but he arrives hardly five seconds before they begin and he hightails it out of the door as soon as the class comes to an end. He doesn’t make eye contact with Jungkook once, even in the mirror. Jungkook tries not to worry about it, but he can’t help feeling like he did something wrong without knowing it. He wants to follow V outside and confront him about what’s going on, but he’s also conscious that he could be pushing things too far when they’re already not going well.

He can tell that V is distancing himself from him. But, whether out of cowardice or cautiousness, the result is the same: Jungkook doesn’t do anything to stop him.


	15. summer dreams (ripped at the seams)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> brace yourselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly sorry for the delay in getting this out – me and my beta have both been super busy lately -_-
> 
> having said that, massive thanks to both my beta and everyone who commented on the last chapter for giving me the motivation to write this haha XD as I’m sure you can tell from the title, it’s not exactly a cheerful chapter but what’s gotta happen’s gotta happen *cries* (it’s probably not that bad I’m maybe being too dramatic, but I was lowkey dying writing it so)
> 
> also I threw in a tiny bit of namjin (like really tiny lol, it’s not even significant enough to add it as a pairing but yeah) bc I didn’t want the whole thing to be icky angst so wooo a bit of light relief
> 
> also if you want to level up the angst even more then try listening to 4 o’clock by Rap Mon and V while you read this (thAT SONG HURTS ME)
> 
> I’m just typing right now to put off the moment you’ll have to read this /mess/ but anyway, I hope you like it, I hope it doesn’t read too clunky cause I had a lot to fit in? anyway here we goooo

“I can’t believe it’s the last day of school before the Christmas holidays,” Jisoo says seriously as she sits down with the Pink Ladies at their regular lunch table.

“I’m glad about it,” Jimin shrugs. “This term feels like it’s gone on way too long already. I’m honestly so bored of school.”

Jisoo raises her eyebrows. “But this is the _last_ last day before Christmas break that we’ll _ever_ have!”

Rosé scowls. “Speak for yourself.”

Jungkook grins. “Yeah, some of us aren’t so lucky.”

Jisoo frowns at them. “When did you two get so pally-pally?”

Jin laughs. “Since their heart-to-heart at the party I feel like they’ve teamed up to plot against us.”

Jungkook snorts. He and Rosé haven’t made much more of an effort to speak to each other, but she has just stopped being passive aggressive towards him. Besides, they seem to have reached an understanding that they should be friends, since they’ll be the only Pink Ladies still at school after this year is over.

“For real, though,” Rosé sighs. “I wish it was my last year too. I’ve decided to adopt Jungkook so I’m not too lonely next year, but it’s going to be weird without you.”

“It’s so weird that we only have a few months left,” Jin agrees.

“I may not even have that long,” Jimin says, smiling at them mysteriously.

Jungkook raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Did you do it?” he asks Jimin excitedly.

“I did,” Jimin responds shyly.

Jisoo frowns at them. “What did you do?”

Jimin’s small smile grows into a grin. “I’ve applied to beauty school! The classes start a couple weeks into January and I’m not sure if I’ll get in, but at least now I have a chance.”

“Congratulations,” Jungkook smiles at him proudly, and Jimin beams back.

“Thanks, Kook. Thanks for helping me with the application as well.”

Jungkook blushes. “I didn’t do much,” he mumbles, remembering how he’d sat with Jimin in one of their free periods last week and helped him figure out the application process.

“You helped a lot,” Jimin argues, and Jungkook blushes again but doesn’t deny it.

A silence settles over them and only at that point does Jimin notice that the other Pink Ladies are all staring at him incredulously.

Jisoo is the first person to speak. “You’re leaving?” she asks, her face dejected, as if her whole world is caving in.

“Only if I get in,” Jimin smiles comfortingly.

“You’ll get in,” Jisoo says with confidence. “They’d be crazy not to have you.”

“ _You’d_ be crazy to go,” Jin accuses stroppily.

“What?” Jimin asks, surprised by Jin’s outburst.

“You’re _kidding_ me, right?” Jin continues, seeming inexplicably angry. “You know I’ve been trying to pass my A Levels for _years_. And you’re completely breezing through them, and then you go and throw that all away? You know that you could finish your exams and just do the course next year, right?”

Jimin pouts at him. “I’m just so sick of not doing what I want. I feel like I’m only doing what everybody else wants from me, and I’m so _bored_ of school. I know what I want to do with my life, so why not start right now?”

Rosé raises her eyebrows. “He has a point, Jin,” she says gently.

Jisoo nods. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

“Someone’s got philosophical lately,” Jimin comments with a slight chuckle, feeling relieved that the girls have his back. He didn’t mean to, of course, but he thinks he may have touched on a sensitive topic with Jin.

“Talking of which, Namjoon’s on his way over,” Rosé says, frowning as the resident school nerd catches her eye and waves at her cheerfully. She ignores his wave and cocks an eyebrow at her friends. “What’s he doing?”

“Oh,” Jin says, looking behind him and smiling at Namjoon. He turns back to the Pink Ladies, his mood immediately brightening. “Hani finally asked him whether I could borrow his old English Lit notes, so he said he’d give them to me to look at over the Christmas holidays. Our class this year is mainly doing the same books and poems as he did last year, so I think it’s going to be really helpful.”

Namjoon reaches the table and smiles at everyone, his gaze settling on Jin. “Hi. I have the notes in my bag – just one second…” He takes his backpack off and puts it on the bench next to Jin, who watches Namjoon rifle through his bag as if nothing is more interesting. He even puts his fork down and the others stare at him, shell-shocked. _Nothing_ is more important than Jin’s food.

After a couple of seconds, Namjoon pulls out a ringbinder from his bag and hands it to Jin, cringing a little as he does so. “The pages are a bit crumpled, but hopefully it’s legible. You can just text me and ask if you can’t read anything – oh…” he says in realisation, pulling a pen from his pocket and flicking the folder open as Jin openly stares at him. “Here’s my number,” he explains as he jots it down in black ink, before closing the folder again and smiling widely at Jin. “I hope it helps. Have a good Christmas.”

“You too,” Jin says, blushing as Namjoon shoots him a wink and walks away, slinging his backpack over his shoulder casually as if he didn’t just make Jin’s entire world tilt on its axis.

“What was that?” Rosé deadpans.

Jin returns his gaze to Rosé, seeming vaguely shocked that his friends are still there. “What do you mean?” he says defensively.

“You stopped eating,” Jimin points out weakly.

Jin picks up his fork defiantly. “I was just being polite.”

“You _blushed_ ,” Jisoo giggles.

“He’s cute, okay?” Jin says cantankerously. “I never realised it before. I’d never seen him up close.”

“You have a crush on your tutor,” Jimin coos.

“He’s not my tutor,” Jin snaps.

“You could ask him to be,” Jisoo suggests with a cheeky grin.

“I mean, you have his number,” Rosé giggles.

Jin smiles at them. “I guess I could.” He then sighs and puts Namjoon’s folder in his bag. “I’d better check that the notes are good first, though.”

“He’s Kim Namjoon,” Jisoo says pointedly. “The notes will be fine.”

Jin rolls his eyes at his friends but doesn’t disagree.

 

***

 

At the end of school, the Pink Ladies and T-Birds all meet up by the gates to exchange Christmas cards and presents before heading home. Jungkook didn’t get anything for anyone because he forgot, so he feels guilty when Jimin hands him a small gift and the guilt increases when he’s handed cards by the other Pink Ladies, including even Rosé.

It seems quite sudden to Jungkook, but Rosé has been a lot kinder to Jungkook since she opened up to him at Jin’s party. Jungkook doesn’t know whether it’s because now he’s seen her at her most vulnerable and so she trusts him more, or whether it’s just because the other Pink Ladies told her to be nicer, but either way he likes the change. Rosé’s a surprisingly fun person to be around when you’re not on the receiving end of her snarky remarks.

When they all part ways and start to head home, Jungkook takes a shortcut through an alleyway so that he tactfully bumps into Taehyung on his way to the bus stop. Jungkook and Taehyung are still speaking to each other, but Taehyung seems to be acting more friendly than romantic towards him lately and it’s confusing him. Jungkook wants to talk to him properly, and now is his last chance before Taehyung goes back home for the holidays.

“Hey, Tae,” Jungkook says cautiously as he walks up to Taehyung.

Taehyung stops in his tracks when he hears the greeting. Jungkook watches carefully as his expression shifts from surprise to hesitance. “Hey,” Taehyung replies.

There’s an awkward pause.

“How have you been?” Jungkook perseveres, and Taehyung feels a fresh wave of guilt wash over him because Jungkook would _know_ how he’s been if Taehyung hadn’t been avoiding him. But then again, given Taehyung’s recent behaviour, he figures that Jungkook must know he hasn’t been well.

“Fine,” Taehyung lies.

“Good,” Jungkook replies shortly, but he doesn’t mean it.

Something’s different.

Jungkook isn’t usually one for long sentences, but their conversations are never as stilted as this. Taehyung usually fills the silence and Jungkook doesn’t know when that changed.

“Um, so I was wondering if you wanted to do something over Christmas? We haven’t seen each other properly in a while.” Jungkook tries not to let his voice sound too whiny; tries not to show how desperate he is, but he knows Taehyung can recognise that the suggestion isn’t as casual as he wants it to be.

Taehyung bites his lip, avoiding Jungkook’s gaze. “I don’t know if I’ll have time. I have a lot of work I need to get done over the holidays.”

Jungkook frowns at him. “But you never revise for mocks – you told me. And your real exams aren’t until June.”

Taehyung smiles noncommittally and tries not to focus on how Jungkook remembered such a small detail about his life. He can’t deal with this right now. “It’s Year 13. I’ve got to take it more seriously than before. Anyway, there’s coursework to get done and…” He trails off, realising that if he lists the reasons, it may come off as too defensive. “Besides,” he starts, changing tack, “I know you’ve got lots of work to do as well and you’ve done your performance mock now, so you don’t need me anymore.”

Jungkook stares at him, confused and a little upset by the response. “You know that’s not why I wanted to see you.”

Taehyung sucks in a sharp breath and turns to face Jungkook, his expression conflicted. “You know I…” _You know how I feel about you. But things got complicated and I don’t know how to talk to you about it._ “It’s just that a lot has happened lately and it’s something I need to deal with on my own. I need some space.”

Jungkook frowns harder. “But I…” _But I miss you._ “Okay,” he says instead. “You need space. Okay.”

“I don’t want to push you away,” Taehyung mumbles, even though that’s exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t _know_ what he’s doing. He doesn’t know what he wants.

 _But you are,_ Jungkook thinks, but he says nothing. It seems to have become a trend lately – the same person who brought him out of his shell is now pushing him back inside it, and he doesn’t know how to get out what he’s really feeling. “Have a good Christmas,” Jungkook says after a short silence, and the words feel empty, even to himself.

“You too,” Taehyung says, his voice more genuine than Jungkook’s but somehow also more detached. Jungkook doesn’t understand how that’s possible.

He doesn’t understand anything.

Taehyung walks away, and Jungkook feels more lost than ever.

 

***

 

“Happy Christmas, Taehyung,” Taehyung’s aunt says as she hands him a present.

“Thanks auntie, but you’re a day late,” Taehyung jokes. (He’s usually funny, he swears, but apparently his family members think his sense of humour is generally ‘inappropriate’, so he tones it down to Jin-level humour when he’s at family occasions.)

She winks at him. “It’s never too late to celebrate!” She looks around the room before leaning closer to Taehyung, as if she’s about to tell him a secret. “You should really bring your girlfriend next year; I feel like I’m overrun by men,” she adds conspiratorially.

Taehyung flushes. “I actually don’t have a girlfriend at the moment.” _And I probably won’t in the future, either. Ever._

“All in good time, my love,” she smiles comfortingly.

Taehyung smiles guiltily. “I’m not sure about that,” he admits, aware that he’s stepping into dangerous territory. He figures it’s about time he starts testing the waters.

“Nonsense!” she titters. “Someday you’ll find the perfect girl, and you’ll get married and have children and wonder why you ever questioned your faith in the universe to give you such things,” she grins at him encouragingly.

Taehyung would snort at her turn of phrase if he didn’t feel so put out by what she’s suggesting. “I actually… don’t know if I want kids,” he says carefully.

Taehyung’s aunt frowns. “You can’t let your parents down, Taehyung,” she says sternly, her smile immediately straightening out into a rigid line across her face. “You can’t deny them the prospect of grandchildren.”

“They’ve never mentioned –” Taehyung starts, but he stops abruptly when she waves her hands in the air dismissively.

“Don’t be ridiculous. They just don’t want to pressure you – and you shouldn’t feel pressured, my dear, but you must trust that things will work out eventually. You’ll end up happily married with wonderful children, don’t you worry.” She smiles at him, pleased that she sounds sufficiently motivational and inspirational to get through to Taehyung, but she can’t see that Taehyung’s smile is one hundred percent fake.

The prospect of going through his whole life without ever having the courage to be himself, ending up married to a woman he doesn’t love with children he doesn’t want, is the exact thing that he _should_ be worrying about.

But for some reason, the misunderstanding doesn’t make Taehyung want to come clean. Instead, it makes him want to hide even more; to crawl even deeper into the hole he’s dug for himself, until people are so certain that he’s straight that they stop asking difficult questions.

That evening, Taehyung feels more pressured than usual to be _normal_ – and the fact that he just _can’t_ is the last thing on his mind right now. Taehyung breathes in deeply, counts to four in his head and then breathes out, but it doesn’t do much to help him calm down. He gets out his phone, desperate to talk to someone, and his finger hovers over Jungkook’s name for a few seconds before he changes his mind. He doesn’t want to scare Jungkook like this by freaking out over the idea of coming out, especially when it’s already a sensitive issue between them. Besides, some part of Taehyung recognises that he shouldn’t be treating Jungkook like this, no matter what’s going on inside his head, and that Jungkook doesn’t deserve this. Taehyung is doing the right thing by keeping his distance, because Jungkook deserves someone so much better than him.

Instead, Taehyung scrolls through his contacts and finds a number that he knows he should have already deleted, but he didn’t, for reasons he doesn’t quite understand himself.

“Change your mind?” a soft voice filters through the line after a few rings.

He bites his lip. “Hi, Jennie. I need a favour.”

 

***

 

On the day after Boxing Day, there’s a ring at the doorbell and Jungkook sprints down the stairs, already knowing who it’s going to be. (The fact that he’s already done this twice today, only to be disappointed when it was a simple parcel delivery and later a man trying to sell him a garden bench, is the last thing on his mind.)

“Junghwa!” he says excitedly when he opens the door, pulling her into a hug before she has a chance to reply.

“You’re squashing me,” Junghwa laughs, but she hugs Jungkook back just as tightly all the same.

“How was your Christmas?” he asks as she walks inside. Jungook picks up her small suitcase, carrying it into the house and setting it down in the hallway to take upstairs later.

“Pretty good,” Junghwa answers. “My parents laughed at me for still not having a boyfriend, but apart from that everything went smoothly,” she discloses as she sits down at the kitchen table, Jungkook sitting down opposite her.

Jungkook chuckles, knowing full-well that Junghwa’s parents mean well, even if they’re often insensitive in their delivery. “Family, eh?”

“You got that right,” Junghwa laughs. She then launches into stories of how ridiculously drunk her cousins got over Christmas and how she spent the whole evening laughing at them, and Jungkook laughs along with her as she tells the story. It’s only been a couple of months, but he really missed talking to her in person.

After a few minutes of idle chat, Junghwa grins at him. “Go on, then, I know you’re dying to tell me all about your boyfriend.”

Jungkook blushes. “He’s not my boyfriend. We never labelled it, or anything. We’re just… spending more time together.”

Junghwa snorts. “Okay, sure. Whatever you want to call it. Now tell me about your boyfriend.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes at her stubbornness, but he smiles despite himself. “I’ve already told you so much. What more do you want to know?”

“Well, for starters, can I meet him?” Junghwa asks excitedly.

Jungkook falters. “I, um, I’m not sure. We haven’t exactly been…” He cringes. “ _Talking_ lately.”

Junghwa’s eyebrows pinch together in distaste. “I don’t need to know about your sex life, Jungkook.”

Jungkook blanches. “That’s _not_ what I meant.”

“Oh,” she responds, apparently surprised. She then looks at him anxiously. “Are things not going so well between you two?”

Jungkook shrugs awkwardly. “Something like that. I don’t know what happened, but he started pulling away from me. And then, before the holidays started, I asked him if he wanted to meet up over Christmas and he said he was too busy and that he needed some space.” He looks down at the table sadly. “I’m not really sure what I did wrong.”

Junghwa smiles comfortingly. “You probably didn’t do anything wrong. Sometimes people just need space.”

Jungkook looks up at her hopefully. “You really think it’ll be fine? Maybe I’ve been overanalysing, but I’m not sure. He doesn’t seem like himself lately.”

Junghwa’s smile falters. “Well, you obviously know him much better than I do, so your gut instinct is probably right.”

Jungkook clenches his teeth, trying not to show how worried he is. His gut instinct is that something’s wrong.

“Jungkook, stop overthinking,” Junghwa orders.

Jungkook looks up at her nervously. “What do I do, Hwook?”

Junghwa smiles sympathetically. “There isn’t really anything you can do. You just have to give him his space and hope that he comes back. If your relationship is really as strong as you say it is, then he will.”

Jungkook grins at her, effectively dispelling the tension. “How is it that you have the best relationship advice and yet _you’re_ the one not in a relationship?”

Junghwa laughs. “Shut up, you sound like my parents.”

 

***

 

It reaches the 30th of December and Jungkook still hasn’t heard from Taehyung. He spends an embarrassingly long time debating whether or not to add any kisses to the ‘happy birthday’ message he started drafting half an hour ago. It’s usually Taehyung who starts adding kisses to their messages, and Jungkook simply follows his lead, but they haven’t texted in a few days and Jungkook doesn’t know whether to take the plunge or not. He isn’t sure whether he should add kisses to show that he cares and to signify that he’s there for Taehyung if he needs him, or whether he should leave it with a smiley face to show that he’s giving Taehyung his space, just like they discussed. Oh – or maybe an exclamation mark! That makes it seem like Jungkook is excited for him, you know, about the whole aging-up thing… and then maybe the kiss (or lack thereof) won’t seem so important.

Jungkook groans to himself. He swears he wouldn’t usually think about a text message so deeply – but it’s been too long since he’s had a proper conversation with Taehyung, and Jungkook is slowly starting to lose his nerve.

“What are you doing?” Junghwa asks curiously as she enters the living room to see Jungkook sat on the sofa with his head in his hands.

“Nothing,” he answers far too quickly, before hitting send on the message before he can think about it again. He doesn’t check the most recent version of his draft until it’s already on its way to Taehyung’s phone.

**Happy birthday! x**

A kiss _and_ an exclamation mark – is that too much? Either way, it’s too late now. Jungkook holds his breath and awaits a reply.

Junghwa wordlessly joins him on the sofa and watches the phone screen, understanding that this is a strangely big deal for Jungkook right now. Jungkook generally seems fine, of course – he managed to find time to introduce Junghwa to the Pink Ladies, in between working on his Art coursework and spending time with the family – but Junghwa can tell that the issue with Taehyung is still playing on his mind. Hopefully Taehyung’s reply will help to put Jungkook’s mind at ease.

A few minutes later, Jungkook’s phone chimes and he looks nervously at his screen to view the message from Taehyung.

**Thanks :)**

Jungkook gulps and locks his phone before Junghwa can say anything about it. The text is friendly, sure, but that’s all it is. And Taehyung _never_ passes up the opportunity to send Jungkook kisses.

Jungkook hates to acknowledge it, but there’s no avoiding it any longer – something is definitely wrong.

 

***

 

Jungkook is nervous about going back to school; and for once, the nervousness doesn’t have anything to do with Taehyung. The other Pink Ladies sense it at the weekend, when they all meet up in the café to celebrate Jisoo’s 18th. (They’re being served by a waitress called Jennie, which doesn’t exactly help in soothing Jungkook’s nerves. He tries not to stare at her as he sips at his vanilla milkshake.)

“What are you so worried about?” Jin asks at one point.

“He’s getting back his results from his Music mock on Monday,” Jimin explains to the others. “ _But_ ,” he says pointedly, “he’s worrying unnecessarily. You’re going to be fine, Jungkook.” He smiles encouragingly, and Jungkook smiles back because Jimin’s smile is contagious, but his nerves don’t really settle until he’s sitting in front of the teacher, waiting to get his individual feedback on how he did.

“Well done, Jungkook,” Mrs Park says to him as she hands him the sheet of paper. Jungkook takes a deep breath and looks down, not sure what to expect. But what he definitely _doesn’t_ expect is to see that he got the top grade.

He’s grinning before he even realises it, and Mrs Park smiles back at him proudly.

“Your confidence has evidently improved massively and it seems to have made a strong impact on your technical ability,” she explains as she goes over each section of the mark scheme with him. Eventually she hands Jungkook the piece of paper to keep and smiles at him softly. “You should be proud.”

And proud Jungkook is. He practically flies out of the room once the final bell rings, his judgement perhaps slightly clouded by his good mood. Briefly forgetting the fact that Taehyung has been avoiding him lately, Jungkook picks up the phone to tell him the good news. He thinks about texting, but he really wants to thank Taehyung personally and texting feels so impersonal, so he rings Taehyung’s number a couple of times; rushing to find the T-Birds outside when he doesn’t get a response.

“Hey, Jungkook, what’s up?” Hani asks with a smile.

“Not much,” Jungkook grins back, even though he’s practically bursting to tell somebody. He wants Taehyung to be the first person to know; after all, he couldn’t have done it without Taehyung’s help. It may not sound like much, but having someone’s assistance in choosing a song and building up his confidence helped massively. He wants to be able to thank him properly. “Have you guys seen V?” he then asks, looking around at them as he notices that the person he’s looking for isn’t there.

“He’s over there, with his new girlfriend, apparently,” Suga says, pointing into the distance.

Jungkook frowns. He curiously shifts his gaze to where Suga’s pointing and, just like that, he feels his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach.

Because there’s Taehyung – no, _V_ – kissing somebody else.

It isn’t a sweet kiss in the slightest… it’s nothing like the way Taehyung kisses Jungkook. This kiss looks desperate, borderline uncomfortable, as V pushes the girl against the wall and kisses her like his life depends on it.

Jungkook stares for a moment, letting the situation sink in as he watches his… his what? Jungkook ponders. His _Taehyung_ , perhaps. His Taehyung, kissing somebody else. He doesn’t know what he’s feeling – he doesn’t know anything except that his mind’s gone numb and his heart isn’t functioning properly.

Taehyung doesn’t look up once. He probably hasn’t even noticed Jungkook standing there, but the damage is done.

“Jungkook, are you okay?” Jungkook hears Hani ask, somewhere in the back of his mind. She sounds concerned. She should be.

Jungkook gulps, trying to keep his emotions in check. He doesn’t know what to do, so he does what he does best: he runs away from the situation, offering half-hearted goodbyes to the T-Birds as he escapes down the road.

Only once he’s on his own, walking alone down an empty street on the way back to his house, does the extent of what’s happened hit him.

He feels his heart drop, unable to get the image out of his mind of when he looked up expecting to see Taehyung and instead saw someone completely different. There was V – not even the friendly, mocking T-Bird V but the arrogant, disinterested V that Jungkook hoped he would never have to see again – and he was plastered to some girl that Jungkook doesn’t know the name of.

Against his permission, Jungkook’s brain begins to ponder whether the girl he was kissing was Jennie. Whether maybe V has been seeing her ever since their first ‘date’… whether maybe that’s why he was so busy over Christmas.

Jungkook can’t breathe.

He knows that it has nothing to do with him: Taehyung could never fall for a girl, even if he tried. But Taehyung’s issues with accepting himself have never got this bad before and it’s in this moment that Jungkook realises he can’t live like this.

It isn’t the same as a few months ago when Jungkook decided he had to forget. Jungkook doesn’t want to forget, not anymore. But he also doesn’t want to continue whatever this is.

He feels it with a surprising level of clarity and certainty: maybe it will be easier to move on now that he actually has a concrete reason. They didn’t just drift apart – Jungkook was pushed. And the timing couldn’t be better: it’s the beginning of January, when everybody is making New Year’s resolutions and trying to make positive changes in their lives. Jungkook decides to follow suit. Whatever he and Taehyung had is over, and it’s time to move on.

 

***

 

Jungkook receives a text from Taehyung later; something impersonal and detached saying

**I heard you were looking for me after school?**

– no ‘everything okay?’ or anything similar, not that Jungkook would expect that type of question from him anymore.

Jungkook stares at the text for a good two minutes before he turns off his phone, just so he doesn’t have to look at Taehyung’s name on his screen anymore.

 

***

 

The next day at dance class, Bambam walks over to Jungkook in one of the breaks and makes the mistake of asking about _him_.

“Is V coming tonight?” he says nonchalantly, as if the answer doesn’t really matter.

Jungkook looks up at him in surprise before lowering his gaze to the floor. “No,” he mutters quietly.

“Oh, is he busy?” Bambam asks obliviously.

“No, he’s just not invited,” Jungkook says, a hint of betrayal seeping into his tone of voice.

Bambam frowns at him. “Are you two still…?” he says cautiously.

“No,” Jungkook says, his voice coming out snappier than he means it to. The hurt is well masked beneath the anger.

Bambam stares at him in shock. “Why?” he questions hesitantly, not really knowing whether he should ask.

Jungkook looks at him sadly. “I don’t want to talk about it. Please.”

“Okay,” Bambam acquiesces, although he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried.

They don’t discuss it again, and that evening at pizza night Jungkook spends much more time talking with Yugyeom, just to ignore Bambam’s pitiful gaze.

 

***

 

Taehyung is surprised when Jungkook doesn’t respond to his text. He knows that he hasn’t initiated conversation with Jungkook properly in a while, but it’s always been him ignoring Jungkook and never the other way around.

He sends other texts, too, all as oblivious as the first:

**are things okay jungkook?**

**what’s going on**

**I heard your music thing went well, congrats!**

and finally

**are you avoiding me**

He still doesn’t get a response, so he assumes that the answer is yes.

It’s a good thing, probably, that he’s being ignored, Taehyung thinks as he desperately tries to reason with himself. It means that Jungkook is giving up on him; and that’s good too. Jungkook should have someone who can proudly show him off, and that person isn’t Taehyung.

So really, this is good.

But fuck, it hurts.

Taehyung doesn’t miss how Jungkook has started avoiding Taehyung’s gaze instead of staring at him imploringly and waiting for Taehyung to make eye contact. Even when Taehyung deliberately looks at Jungkook, he can’t catch his eye, and that makes him worried. He _knows_ that Jungkook deserves better, but he doesn’t know what happened to make Jungkook realise it too.

Taehyung confronts Jungkook about it on Thursday afternoon after school, taking a detour on the way to the bus stop so that he runs into Jungkook on his way home. The street is empty, but Taehyung still tries to keep his voice down, just in case. “Jungkook, I know you’re ignoring me,” he states.

Jungkook raises his eyebrows at Taehyung, his face set in a clear expression of disbelief. “Look who’s talking.”

Taehyung bites his lip, because he knows he’s been doing the same thing to Jungkook – and for much longer at that – but the prospect that Jungkook doesn’t care enough anymore to keep trying hurts him so much more than he thought it would. “Okay, that’s a fair point… Look, I’m really sorry I’ve been weird lately, but please let me explain.”

Jungkook sighs. “What is there to explain? You kissed her.”

Taehyung stares at Jungkook’s downhearted expression, unable to say anything in response; and suddenly the weight of what he’s done crashes down on him.

 _Jungkook saw._ And now he feels even worse about everything he’s put Jungkook through, something he didn’t even think was possible. Jungkook saw – and Taehyung has ruined everything.

“You’ve been ignoring me since before the Christmas holidays. You met up with her without telling me and then you kissed her.” Jungkook says it factually, as if he’s reading a boring news report – as if he’s already given up on them. Taehyung feels like it would be easier if Jungkook was mad.

“I just wanted to show the guys at school that I was with a girl, so they would stop questioning me,” he says, although he doesn’t know why he’s trying to explain. It’s already too late. “Surely you can understand –”

“It doesn’t matter if I understand,” Jungkook interrupts. “An explanation doesn’t make it okay.”

“I know,” Taehyung sighs tiredly, exhaustedly. “I know it doesn’t, and I… I don’t know what I was doing, I really don’t, I just…” He trails off again, with no clue as to where his sentence is going. He’s usually good with words, but this isn’t something he can fix with a well thought-out speech. He doesn’t know how to make this better.

Jungkook exhales sharply. “Look, Taehyung. You clearly have some things to sort out for yourself,” he says, his voice gentle but firm. “And I’m not going to get mad at you over it, but I’m also not going to stand by your side like an idiot while I wait for you to fix yourself. You can’t put me through that, Taehyung, you know you can’t.” Jungkook looks calm; so incredibly calm, which doesn’t make sense to Taehyung when it’s all he can do to hold himself together.

“I know,” Taehyung repeats, his voice a hoarse whisper. He doesn’t know what he expected. He should never have hoped for Jungkook to stay.

“I want you to sort yourself out, okay?” Jungkook says insistently. “I _care_. Please stop doing this to yourself.” His expression is a cross between desperation and resignation, like he’s given up all hope of them being together. Taehyung’s heart feels like it’s collapsing in on itself.

“Jungkook, please don’t hate me,” Taehyung says before he can stop himself. “I didn’t mean to –”

“You never mean to,” Jungkook interjects. “But you always do.”

“Jungkook, I’m sorry,” Taehyung croaks.

“I know,” Jungkook says softly, giving Taehyung a sad smile. “I know you are. But that’s not enough anymore.” And with that, Jungkook walks away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don’t hate me my heart is broken too
> 
> but for real tho, tae really has some stuff to sort out and I wanted to give him the breathing room to fix things, without him hurting jk even more as he’s trying to figure himself out. it’s a long ride ik haha but just stick it out with me <3
> 
> btw the scene with tae’s aunt was inspired by the fact that ever since I told my mum I was bisexual she won’t stop going on about how she ‘still wants grandkids’ smh (also trying to set me up with basically every boy I meet which is super awks??? but that’s another story anyway lol)
> 
> ^ so *inspired by real events* and all that lmao
> 
> on another note, idk how soon I’ll be able to update cause things have been pretty hectic recently, but trust me I’ve been writing and the next chapter will be coming at some point!! thank you for being patient <3
> 
> as always please let me know your thoughts, I love discussing the characters and seeing other people who are just as invested in this fic as I am!! :))))


	16. what are we doing here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung pines and Jungkook moves on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait! things have been busybusybusy but yay I’m back
> 
> I got so many comments on the last chapter which was a really big surprise tbh and it made me so happy that so many people are reading this fic now and are interested in the characters!! I mean wow. and your comments made me really motivated to write more :D I hope this chapter doesn’t disappoint ^.^

Taehyung stands alone on the street, staring after a boy whose heart he just broke, and wonders how on earth he ever let things get to this point.

He knows that this is his fault, which makes it one hundred times worse. This could have been prevented so _easily_ , if Taehyung just stopped to really think about it for a second. But he’s an idiot, and he was only thinking about himself, and now he’s hurt the one person he really cares about.

Now it’s too late for second thoughts, and Taehyung has to accept it. What’s done is done.

He walks to the bus stop, gets on the bus and travels home, feeling a little spaced out, as if all of this is happening to somebody else. His body feels numb and he realises with a start that after repressing his true emotions and pretending to be fine for so long, he suddenly can’t feel anything at all.

It’s a state of mind that he welcomes, because at least it makes everything a bit less painful.

 

***

 

The next day at school, Jungkook doesn’t let himself think about Taehyung. This day is about Jimin. Jimin has been accepted onto a beauty course which starts next week, so today is his last day at school – Jungkook wants to make the most of it and give his best friend the send-off he deserves.

He and the other Pink Ladies went shopping on Wednesday night for a good luck gift, walking away with various hair products, body creams, yoga DVDs and even a pair of hair straighteners. (Apparently Jimin going to beauty school is a big enough occasion to warrant spending their entire life savings – but Jungkook used his parents’ money so he isn’t complaining.)

“Happy Beauty School Acceptance, Chim Chim,” Jisoo announces proudly as she brandishes her present in Jimin’s face. It’s the end of the school day and they’re all stood by the gate, not allowing Jimin to leave until they’ve all said a proper goodbye.

“We hope that you’ll have a lovely time without us,” Rosé adds and Jimin laughs.

“You guys didn’t have to do anything special,” he insists, although he seems grateful nonetheless.

“We want you to be prepared for your beauty school endeavours,” Jin explains. (Funnily enough, he’s been a lot calmer about the idea of Jimin leaving ever since he started talking to Namjoon. Perhaps the notes really did help Jin to feel more confident in his English Literature studies… or maybe his happiness doesn’t have so much to do with the studying, but rather the person lending him notes.)

“Exactly,” Jisoo nods. “So we all got you things we thought you could either use while you’re there, or try out beforehand so you go in with the largest amount of knowledge possible.”

“I’ve only got two days before I start,” Jimin chuckles nervously, reluctantly accepting Jisoo’s present and peering inside curiously.

“Then you’d better get started,” Jin grins, just as Jimin squeals.

“This is supposed to be one of the best face creams out there!” Jimin says excitedly. “Chi Chu, how did you _know_?”

“Just because I’m not going to beauty school doesn’t mean I don’t know how to take care of my skin,” Jisoo says breezily. “Go on, open the rest,” she urges.

Jimin takes the hair straighteners from Jungkook’s outstretched hands and gasps once he realises what they are. “I’ve been wanting this model for _ages_ ,” he says emphatically.

“I know; you never stop talking about them,” Jungkook chuckles. “So I thought now would be a good time for you to try them out for yourself.”

Jimin beams and crushes Jungkook into a hug, to which Jisoo complains, “ _I_ didn’t get a hug.”

“You’re not his best friend,” Rosé snorts.

Jisoo scowls. “Oh, yeah. Lucky me just gets stuck with you.”

_“Rude.”_

“Then whose best friend am I?” Jin says grouchily.

Jisoo grins. “You’re _Namjoon’s_ best friend,” she says cheekily. “And don’t even try to deny it – we saw you texting him earlier!”

“I was asking him about the scanning of one of the poems,” Jin corrects her pointedly.

“Was it a love poem?” Jisoo continues gleefully.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Jimin interrupts decisively, “do you mind if I open the rest at home? I really do need to get back, and I’ve clearly got a lot to prepare for Monday.”

“Don’t worry; you’re going to do great,” Rosé smiles.

“Thanks, Ro,” Jimin beams. He knows how rare it is to get a compliment from Rosé without it being laced with sarcasm or some other type of humour, so he realises that Rosé must be happier for him than she’s letting on. “And I’ll still see you guys all the time! You can’t ditch me!”

“We could never ditch you,” Jin grins. “You may now be a beauty school student, but you’re first and foremost a Pink Lady.”

“Thanks, you guys,” Jimin says sincerely, unable to keep the grin off his face. He pulls them all into a group hug before waving goodbye and heading off home, the others slowly collecting their things and following suit. Just as Jungkook is picking up his bag, he sees V walk past with J-Hope, and they both stop right in front of him so that J-Hope can say hello and goodbye to Rosé.

Jungkook blinks at V, not sure whether he should say anything, and V averts his gaze.

Soon enough, they’ve left the vicinity and it’s just him and Rosé, but Jungkook doesn’t feel as happy as he did a few minutes ago.

Rosé slings her bag over her shoulder and shoots a small smile at Jungkook as she makes to leave, but Jungkook speaks up before he can really think it through. “Did he ever cheat on you?” he asks.

“What?” Rosé frowns.

Jungkook gulps, slightly regretting bringing it up, but he really does want to know the truth. He wants to know whether this is a trend that he didn’t know about, or whether he was just particularly unlucky. “V. Did he ever cheat on you?” he repeats.

Rosé stares at him, nonplussed. “No. Why?”

Jungkook shrugs sadly. “Nothing. I just – I think I understand what you meant now,” he admits. “About not being good enough for someone… even a best friend.”

Rosé’s gaze softens, turning sympathetic. “Did someone cheat on you, Jungkook?” She frowns. “I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.” Had she really been paying such little attention that she didn’t notice Jungkook was in a relationship? Perhaps she should make an effort to talk to him more.

“It’s nothing,” Jungkook sighs. Part of him wants to talk about it and get things off his chest, but he knows that Rosé isn’t the right person to do that with. Not when she and V have so much history. He can’t reveal his secrets to her.

Rosé purses her lips, not sure whether to voice what she’s thinking, but after a moment’s thought she decides to say it anyway. “Jungkook,” she begins, and Jungkook looks at her, confused. “If you need to talk to someone… I’m here,” she tells him awkwardly.

Jungkook opens his mouth to thank her, but Rosé quickly makes a half-hearted excuse to leave the vicinity before he has a chance to say anything. Rosé walks away hurriedly and tries her best not to think about when she actually started to care about Jungkook’s wellbeing.

 

***

 

Once Jungkook gets home, he starts up his laptop and opens Skype. Even though what he really wants is to hide away from everyone, he and Junghwa arranged to video chat this evening and Jungkook doesn’t want to cancel on her because he doesn’t want her to think that anything is too badly wrong.

However, he’s hyperaware all throughout their call that at some point Junghwa will ask about his relationship, and he doesn’t quite know what to tell her. He’s worried about her reaction – not that Junghwa would ever be petty enough to say ‘I told you so’, but Jungkook would still manage to hear it in the subtext. He likes to make his own decisions, but on some level he wishes he’d listened to her advice a bit more carefully.

Of course, eventually, the question comes.

“So, how are things going with V?” Junghwa asks.

“Not so good, actually…” Jungkook says hesitantly. “We, um. We broke up.”

Junghwa looks at him sadly. “You did? Why?”

“I…” Jungkook gulps. Better to just spit it out and get it over with. “I saw him kissing somebody else.”

Junghwa’s eyes widen. “What a _dick_ ,” she says emphatically.

“Hwook, don’t –”

“No, I’m serious! What an absolute _dick_. I can’t believe he would do that to you, not after everything he’s put you through already! All the lies, the deceit, the sneaking around –”

“I _know_ , Junghwa – I was _there_ –”

“Oh my God, what a complete c –”

 _“Hwook!”_ Jungkook protests, leaning closer to the laptop as if that could stop her from speaking.

Junghwa rolls her eyes. “Calm down, you idiot. I was only going to say ‘cock’.”

Jungkook slumps back onto the sofa cushions sulkily. “Well, once you’ve finished calling him a penis, can we please move onto another topic?”

Junghwa sighs. “I’m sorry, Hwook,” she says softly.

“Yeah,” Jungkook says just as quietly. “Me too.”

 

***

 

Jungkook gives himself the weekend to wallow, so that when he gets back to school on Monday he’s ready to make a new start. He tries to spend more time with Jin and Jisoo, enjoying the time they have left together before they leave school next year, and he also makes more of an effort to talk to his classmates. Hell, he even talks to Rosé. None of them say anything about his newfound clinginess, but they probably chalk it down to Jimin being gone. Jungkook honestly does miss Jimin’s presence at school – he misses having someone to walk through the school gates with every morning; someone to sit and do homework with in his frees; someone who makes the room brighter just by being with him. But he still talks to Jimin almost every day, and he feels happy for Jimin that he’s enjoying his time at beauty school.

When the Pink Ladies can’t provide enough of a distraction for him, Jungkook asks Yugyeom and Bambam to hang out, which results in him talking to Yugyeom a lot more, because Yugyeom always makes time for him, even for just a quick phone call in the evening. Jungkook feels a little guilty for taking advantage of Yugyeom’s feelings like that, but he quickly gets over that thought because he doesn’t have any ulterior motives, other than spending more time with his friends and taking his mind off a certain _someone._

The more time Jungkook spends with his other friends, the easier he finds it to get his mind off Taehyung. In the week that passes after the official breakup, Jungkook learns to accept that what they had was already over long before that. Thinking about it that way, it doesn’t feel so difficult moving past the idea of Taehyung and onto the idea of new relationships. Jungkook doesn’t want to make Taehyung feel isolated and he still cares deeply about Taehyung’s wellbeing, but he supposes it’s about time that he listens to Taehyung’s request and gives him the space that he needs to figure things out for himself. Jungkook can’t keep waiting on him forever.

So Jungkook moves on.

 

***

 

Taehyung, meanwhile, holes himself up in his room all weekend; Soonshim keeping him company and listening to him rant about everything that’s happened. By the time Monday comes around, Taehyung has got the anger and the majority of his sadness out of his system, so that instead, he’s only crushed with the bitter disappointment of knowing he was the one to mess things up. But, on the bright side, a disappointment that leaves him numb to all other emotions is much easier to cover up on the surface.

He’s too good at hiding it, really. He almost wishes somebody would ask him what’s wrong, but nobody notices anything different about him. Not even J-Hope, who can always tell when something’s wrong, realises that V is acting differently. Or, if he does, he must put it down to the stress of being in a new relationship – because apparently that’s what V and Jennie are to everyone, even though he never told anybody that they were dating. He doesn’t bother to correct them, because it isn’t like it matters, anyway. Not anymore.

“So, are you and Jennie seeing each other now, or something?” Suga asks one day when V sits down for lunch.

“Something like that,” V responds with a smirk before taking a big bite from his burger to stop them asking any more questions. He isn’t lying. Jennie’s asked him to hook up a couple times since the time Jungkook saw, and V agreed both times because he no longer has a good reason not to. (The fact that he doesn’t really _want_ to doesn’t seem like a good enough reason in and of itself. It gives V something to do, at least – and it takes his mind off Jungkook, or at least it does until he starts picturing Jungkook’s lips on his skin instead of Jennie’s. But that’s beside the point.)

At some point J-Hope suggests that they should have a double date; J-Hope and Rosé with V and Jennie. V thinks that it largely sounds like a terrible idea, but he’s already made a pact with himself that he’ll say yes to anything that takes his mind off Jungkook, so he says yes to this as well. They schedule it for this weekend, and that’s that.

 

***

 

It’s Thursday, and Jungkook is sat with Jimin as they watch TV. It’s been a month since his and Taehyung’s relationship has been over; only a week and a half since Jungkook _knew_ it was over; and a mere week since Taehyung realised it as well.

Jungkook’s doing okay. He’s doing _well,_ actually – now that things are officially over, his brain is no longer filled with insecurities and worries about Taehyung, which leaves a lot more room in his brain for other more important things. Like school work, dance routines, school friends, dance friends… Jungkook has hardly gone a day without speaking to both Jimin and Yugyeom and it’s something that Jimin picks up on. Jimin has been telling Jungkook all about his classes and how difficult they are, but he knows that he’ll get into the swing of things soon and wonder what it was he found so difficult, once he gets used to beauty school a little bit. In return, Jungkook tells Jimin what he’s missed at school, and also the other goings on in Jungkook’s life that Jimin hasn’t been there to hear about. Yugyeom’s name comes up a little more often than usual, and Jimin smiles knowingly but doesn’t say anything about it.

A little while into the evening, Jimin mentions that he was planning on meeting up with Jisoo for lunch on Saturday, but their plans quickly expanded to include Rosé as well because she hates being left out of things, and now Jin has decided to tag along too. “So would you like to come?” Jimin asks happily. “I’ve been talking to all of you but I haven’t seen all of you _together_ since I left.”

“You’ve only been gone a week,” Jungkook snorts.

“I _know_. But I’m used to seeing you guys every day,” he pouts.

“Saturday, huh?” Jungkook confirms, thinking it through in his head. Then he smiles apologetically. “Actually, I can’t, Chim Chim, sorry. I already said I’d meet up with Yugyeom that day. We’re going to see a film and eat pizza.”

“Don’t you do that every Tuesday?” Jimin points out.

“Yes, but usually it’s a _James Bond_ film and _takeaway_ pizza. This time it’s a _superhero_ film and _restaurant_ pizza,” Jungkook says petulantly.

“Is Bambam going too?” Jimin asks interestedly.

“No, he’s already seen it,” Jungkook answers. There’s a pause where Jimin smirks at him and Jungkook frowns. “What?”

“Nothing,” Jimin laughs. “You just seem to be seeing a lot of Yugyeom lately, that’s all.”

Jungkook blushes. “Well, we’re good friends.”

Jimin raises his eyebrows pointedly, noticing Jungkook’s flushed cheeks. “Is that all you are?”

Jungkook blushes again. “I don’t know,” he says honestly. “I think I might be getting a crush on him.” Talking to Yugyeom with the new perspective of being single has changed his views on his friend a little bit, and he’s not really sure how to feel about it. But his gut feeling is that this is really _good._ Jungkook wanted to move on, but he never thought it would be so easy… he now wonders whether he made a mistake last month by rejecting him.

Jimin smiles excitedly. “Do you think he might like you too?”

Jungkook smiles awkwardly. “He actually asked me out about a month ago. But I said no.” He cringes. “Now I think I might have changed my mind.”

Jimin looks at him in surprise. “What changed your mind?”

“I don’t really know,” Jungkook admits. “I mean, I realised how happy I am when we hang out together. And… it just might be nice, you know? To be with someone. To have someone that cares.” To have someone to fill the hole in his heart. “Do you think he likes me too?” Jungkook asks apprehensively.

“I don’t know him,” Jimin points out with a chuckle. “But… maybe. I mean, he’s always eager to see you,” he says fairly. “Does he ever touch you when you’re hanging out?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “What?” he squeaks.

Jimin laughs; a sound that’s so carefree and happy. Jungkook really misses having Jimin around at school to brighten up his day with laughter. “I mean like this...” Jimin reaches his hand out towards Jungkook’s hair and runs his fingers through it softly, before bringing his hand down to cup Jungkook’s jaw with a cheeky grin. He then withdraws his hand and looks at Jungkook excitedly.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, secretly wishing he’d told Jimin about it sooner that he could have spotted the signs.

Then again, Taehyung had spotted it, and Jungkook had just ignored him.

Jungkook shakes his head, trying to get rid of the thought of Taehyung, but he plays it off as answering ‘no’ to Jimin’s question. “I mean, he used to, but that stopped after I told him I just wanted to be friends.” He blushes again. “I kind of miss it,” he admits. He misses the physical contact with someone; the feeling of trusting somebody completely and knowing that they’re there for you even if everything else goes awry. He misses having someone to talk to, about anything from the annoying sounds ducks make to the insecurities that plague Jungkook’s mind. Jungkook misses a lot of things.

Jimin coos at him. “Look at your face,” he laughs delightedly. “You obviously like him. So ask him out – he probably still likes you too.”

Jungkook shrugs. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He sighs. “I’m not used to being so forward.”

“You don’t have to jump straight into a confession of love, or anything,” Jimin chuckles. “You can keep it casual. Just ask whether he’s still interested in you romantically and say you’d like to try it out.”

Jungkook hums thoughtfully. “I guess that doesn’t sound so difficult. Should I do it now?” he asks, already getting his phone out of his pocket.

Jimin snorts. “You should probably do it in person,” he advises. “Seriously, Kook, have you never asked someone out before?”

“No,” Jungkook says honestly. “People always ask me.”

Jimin rolls his eyes fondly. “How must it feel to be so popular.”

“It’s pretty annoying, actually,” Jungkook chuckles.

Jimin laughs with him. “It’s not exactly a bad problem to have, you know. You should be grateful. God, I wish people would like _me_.”

“People do you like you,” Jungkook insists. Then, more insistently; “ _Suga_ likes you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jimin scoffs. “Thanks for trying, anyway.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I’m being serious, Jimin.”

“So am I,” Jimin shoots back.

Jungkook looks at him innocently. “Oh, that’s great! I thought you were being sarcastic. But in that case, you’re _welcome_.”

Jimin glares back, knowing that Jungkook knew exactly what Jimin meant. “You’re the most annoying best friend ever,” he announces seriously.

Jungkook grins in response. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Jimin snorts. “Anyway, you can still come if you want. Why don’t you ask Yugyeom to join you? I’d like to meet him, and I’m sure the other Pink Ladies would too – you’ve been talking about him so much.”

“I don’t talk about him,” Jungkook protests.

Jimin smirks. “You should hear yourself.”

“Okay, I’ll ask him,” Jungkook sighs, already typing out a message on his phone. “But if he doesn’t want to meet you then I’m not coming.”

“Fair enough,” Jimin shrugs. “This will be a good test, anyway – if he’s interested in meeting your friends it could be a sign that he likes you back.”

 

***

 

Taehyung is sat at home on Friday evening, having already completed some of his homework and done some research on what car pieces they need to give the truck a proper renovation. He feels like he’s been more productive just this week than he has been since he started year 13, and yet still he can’t get his mind off Jungkook as soon as he pauses to think.

He needs to get out.

He hurriedly gets his phone out of his pocket, thinking that if he does it quickly enough then it will stop his brain going into overdrive, and he scrolls to Jennie’s name in his contacts. He blinks twice when he sees Jungkook’s name only a couple of contacts below her – he still isn’t used to the pain that shoots through him every time he sees or hears Jungkook’s name. He wonders briefly whether it’s some kind of medical condition.

“I’m bored, can I come over?” V says when Jennie picks up the phone.

“I’m busy now,” Jennie answers disinterestedly. “But I’ll be free in an hour, if you can wait that long.”

“Sure, whatever,” V mumbles, because it will take that long to get to her house, anyway. Of course, he never bothered to tell her where he lived. And she never asked.

When V arrives at her house, she’s already waiting at the door for him. V wonders whether she really was busy or whether she was just trying to seem busy.

“So this is a bit weird, you wanting to see me only a day before our date,” she says flippantly as she closes the door behind him.

“Date?” V questions, confused. They’ve met up with each other, sure, but ever since V got in contact with her again, it’s never been anything romantic enough to be classified as a ‘date’.

“Double date, with your best friend and his girl, remember?” Jennie prompts him, before tugging at the jacket on his shoulders. “Awfully dressed up today,” she muses.

V snorts, because he dresses like this every day. “Where are your parents?” he asks, just to be sure.

“Out,” she responds simply and V nods. He wonders passively whether Jennie always talks in incomplete sentences, or whether she’s just feeling particularly lazy with her speech today. They don’t usually talk to each other.

“Date’s not happening, by the way,” he mumbles as an afterthought as she starts to kiss his neck.

“Huh?” she asks gormlessly, sounding the least put together that V’s ever heard her. She abandons his neck to look him in the eyes; a relatively uncommon occurrence.

“Rosé didn’t want to do it, so we cancelled,” V explains.

“Oh, thank God,” Jennie says, relieved. “Now I don’t have to try and get out of it.”

V frowns. “And when were you planning on telling me that you didn’t want to go?”

Jennie shrugs. “I was thinking either I’d get ill, or something important would conveniently come up just before we were meant to leave. Don’t be offended,” she adds when she sees his expression, “there’s just no way I could’ve endured an entire evening with _them_.”

V raises his eyebrows, wondering how it’s possible for him not to be offended. “What’s wrong with them? I know Rosé can be a bit harsh, but she’s not bad, honest.”

Jennie laughs. “It’s not Rosé that’s the problem. She seems pretty cool. It’s her boyfriend I have an issue with.”

V looks at her in shock. “J-Hope?” he asks, just to confirm that’s who she means. Who on earth could ever have a problem with J-Hope? He’s perhaps the most agreeable person V knows.

“Yeah,” Jennie agrees. “He’s so happy all the time. I don’t like that in people.” She looks at him, eyebrows raised at his angry expression. “What’s the problem?”

“That’s my best friend you’re talking about,” he mutters.

“That doesn’t mean I have to like him,” she smirks.

“But – but he’s so likeable,” V says insistently.

“That’s my point,” Jennie shrugs. “What’s the big deal? If I wanted to date someone happy, there were loads of people I could choose from. And then who would you have?”

V bites his lip, thinking he understands what Jennie’s implying. “You asked me out because you think I’m unhappy?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it like that,” Jennie says thoughtfully. “But it’s pretty disheartening to spend all your time with people who are having a much better time than you. I guess I could see a tinge of sadness in everything you did, the way you were talking and acting and –” She cuts herself off with a laugh. “And this is probably the most talking we’ve ever done. Now come on – I’m guessing you invited yourself over for a reason.”

V sighs. “Yeah, alright.” He pulls her close to him, kissing her hard and trying not to think about the accuracy of her view on him. It’s amazing how sometimes the people who don’t know you at all are the people who see you the most clearly.

She kisses back passionately, with feeling and if V didn’t know better he might think that she actually cared about him. If he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine that he’s with Jungkook instead.

But Jungkook wouldn’t touch him like this; wouldn’t push him against the wall this aggressively, or tug at his hair so hard it hurts.

_She isn’t him._

V shudders ever so slightly, trying to shake off the feeling of Jungkook on his lips, and attempts to put his focus back on Jennie. Jungkook has no place in his thoughts right now – not when V is only doing this to _forget_.

“You’re mumbling,” Jennie murmurs against his lips.

V opens his eyes and looks at her, confused. “I didn’t notice.”

She stares at him consideringly for a minute, as if she’s going to say something more, but then she shrugs and kisses him again, more urgently than before. V goes along with it; kisses her back and tugs at her clothes, as if he wants her, and as if he wants her to want him back. But it all seems so silly when the person he really wants doesn’t want him anymore… and that hurts. So, so much.

She reaches for the buckle of his jeans and his hands clasp around hers before he realises what he’s doing.

She stares at him, and he stares back.

Neither of them say a word, but the answer is clear. _Stop._

V can’t do this any longer. This has already gone too far – because V _doesn’t_ want Jennie, and it’s never been as clear as it is now. All he wants is his Jungkook back.

Jennie carefully pulls her hands out of V’s grip and places them on her hips, taking a step back from him. “Change your mind?” she asks, her voice gentler than V has ever heard it before.

“I…” he falters. God, trust V to lose his quick wit in a moment like this. He racks his brain for some kind of explanation. “I – I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” he ends up admitting, releasing a shaky breath. There’s no point in keeping up appearances anymore, so he doesn’t attempt to hide the pain he’s feeling. Whatever happens here between them, V has already lost what matters to him the most.

Jennie watches him closely, her lips pursed. “I don’t think we should see each other again,” she says after a moment’s thought. She then holds out one hand expectantly. “Give me your phone,” she instructs.

“Why?” V frowns, but he unlocks it and hands it over anyway.

“I’m deleting my number,” she explains as she scrolls through his contacts, finds her own name and removes any evidence of it having been there in the first place. She hands back V’s phone and smiles at him – a small, careful smile that somehow feels to V like her way of saying goodbye. “I’ll see you around,” she says softly before opening the front door to let V out.

He releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he walks back to the bus stop. In hindsight, that could’ve probably gone a lot better, but either way the result is good.

For the first time in a while, he feels free.

 

***

 

Jungkook and Yugyeom meet up with the Pink Ladies on Saturday. Yugyeom seems perfectly happy to meet Jungkook’s school friends, if not a little nervous, which Jungkook thinks is a good sign. When they arrive together, Jimin shoots Jungkook a cheeky grin, but the others just smile politely and introduce themselves, so Jungkook assumes that Jimin didn’t say anything to the others. He’s actually extremely grateful for that, because Jimin’s sneaky comments asking Yugyeom about whether he’s single and what he looks for in a partner are bad enough without them being duplicated by all the others.

“So, what did you think of them?” Jungkook asks Yugyeom interestedly once they part ways with the other Pink Ladies. He really hopes that Yugyeom liked them – it would be great if he could hang out with all his friends at the same time without having to worry about any conflicting personalities.

“They’re really cool,” Yugyeom replies genuinely. “I mean, Jimin was a bit weird, you know? He kept quizzing me. But apart from that.”

Jungkook smiles apologetically. “Yeah, sorry about that. He’s not usually like that – I think he was just excited to meet you.”

Yugyeom raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Why?”

Jungkook’s apologetic smile turns into a grimace. “Uh. I kind of talk about you quite a lot? I guess.”

“Huh,” Yugyeom responds, feeling a fresh wave of butterflies as he thinks about Jungkook talking about _him_ to his best friend. “Well, I guess that makes sense,” he continues as he forces himself to stay grounded in reality. _He doesn’t like you like that. Snap out of it._ “I mean, we’re good friends.”

“Exactly,” Jungkook says nervously. “So…” He coughs. “Are we going straight to the cinema, or…?”

Yugyeom shrugs. “We haven’t booked any tickets yet, so we can go whenever. I wasn’t sure whether you wanted pizza before or after the film, but I guess since we just ate you probably want to wait a while before eating again.”

Jungkook laughs. “Are you saying you don’t?”

Yugyeom grins. “I have an infinite stomach. I could eat three lunches and still have room for popcorn.” He begins to head in the direction of the cinema and Jungkook walks beside him happily.

“You’re incredible,” Jungkook chuckles, before realising what he’s said and scratching his head awkwardly.

“Are you okay?” Yugyeom asks, picking up on Jungkook’s nervous habit. “You’re acting kind of weird today.”

“I’m not,” Jungkook laughs nervously. “I’m always awkward.”

“No, you’re not,” Yugyeom says kindly. “And you’re usually more relaxed around me, that’s all.” He cringes. “Never mind, just forget it.” He knows he shouldn’t push Jungkook to talk if he doesn’t want to. He shoves his hands in his pockets and tries to keep his gaze focused on the path ahead of them instead of on Jungkook’s face (as tempting as it is).

“I, um – I guess I’m just a little nervous,” Jungkook admits quietly.

“What about?” Yugyeom frowns.

“This,” Jungkook explains awkwardly.

Yugyeom frowns harder, stopping in his tracks as he turns to face Jungkook. “You mean – us, hanging out?” When Jungkook nods his head, Yugyeom raises his eyebrows in bewilderment. “Jungkook, why are you nervous about this? We’ve hung out loads of times. We watch films and eat pizza every week.”

“I know,” Jungkook agrees emphatically, “and I was thinking to myself, pizza is super casual, right? But then _Jimin_ said it’s different because it’s in a _restaurant_ and it’s just us and, I mean – I – is – is this a date? I didn’t…” He can feel himself sweating nervously. “I just – not that it would be bad if it was, you know? But I didn’t have any time to prepare and…” Jungkook looks at Yugyeom apologetically, feeling embarrassed about his rambling. Yugyeom doesn’t seem to mind.

Yugyeom gulps, trying to guess what Jungkook wants the answer to be. “I – well, it isn’t a date… but it can be, if you want it to,” Yugyeom says carefully.

“I think I – er – yeah,” Jungkook agrees, looking down at the floor as he feels a blush rise to his cheeks.

“Oh, right – okay,” Yugyeom replies just as hesitantly. “I’m, um, a little confused?” he admits. “Wasn’t it you who said you just wanted to be friends?”

Jungkook sighs. “I’m going to be honest with you,” he starts nervously. “The reason I said no to you when you asked me out before is because I was already seeing someone.”

Yugyeom frowns in confusion. “Why didn’t you just tell me that at the time?”

Jungkook shrugs helplessly. “It was kind of complicated. We were dating, but it was all in secret and, I mean, to cut a long story short he didn’t treat me well enough… We recently ended things, but it’s been over for a while now already.” He sighs deeply. “My point is – I can’t act like this is me committing to something concrete with you, but if you’re still interested then I’d really like to try it out. I know that we have a great time together, and you’re always so great to me and you’re really cute and I think – I think that maybe it might be really great,” he admits with a sheepish smile. “If you still want to, that is. If not, then please just ignore me – but. I never said no because I didn’t like you. And if you’d asked me before I got involved with this other person, well, who knows how things would’ve turned out…” He trails off uncertainly and looks at Yugyeom to gauge his reaction.

Yugyeom smiles, unable to hide the happiness he feels at Jungkook’s words. “You know, I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk.”

Jungkook blushes. “Well, I wanted to explain.”

“I never stopped liking you, Jungkook,” Yugyeom says gently. “If it’s really what you want; if you really think you’re ready for someone new… then let’s go for it. It doesn’t have to be anything serious; we can just give it a go. If that’s what you want,” he reiterates carefully, aware that he doesn’t want to pressure Jungkook into anything before he’s ready.

Jungkook grins. “It is what I want. Don’t worry; I’m over him now. I know that I deserve better.”

“No pressure, then,” Yugyeom chuckles. “I hope that I can be ‘better’.”

“Well, seeing as we’re going on a date without having to hide it from the world, I’d say this is already a step up,” Jungkook smiles, ignoring the way that his words feel like he’s punching himself in the gut. He feels guilty saying it, like he’s disrespecting Taehyung’s memory in some way. He and Taehyung had problems, of course, but the secrecy was never something Jungkook minded all that much. It was worth it for him. Having said that, it _would_ be really nice to see what it’s like not having to hide.

They continue their walk to the cinema, thinking that they might as well make the most of the fact that they’re already spending the day together. They go to the cinema and book tickets to see the new superhero film, with Yugyeom paying for the tickets and Jungkook paying for the refreshments, and nothing’s different from the other times they’ve watched films together except this time Yugyeom tentatively reaches out to hold his hand, so Jungkook threads their fingers together with a smile and leans his head on Yugyeom’s shoulder.

Once the film is over, they walk out of the cinema holding hands and head to a nearby restaurant, where they eat restaurant pizza together and it isn’t _nearly_ as awkward as Jungkook was worried it would be. They chat about their thoughts on the film and Jungkook hides his fond smile when Yugyeom orders two meals just for himself. Everything’s the same as usual, except this time the evening is filled with shy smiles as well as raucous laughter. The evening passes so quickly that Jungkook feels he doesn’t really get a chance to make the most of it properly.

After paying, they leave the restaurant and look at each other apprehensively, wondering where they go from here. “I had a really great time,” Jungkook says honestly, in an attempt to fill the silence. He really did have fun this evening and he isn’t sure if he’s ready for it to end.

Yugyeom looks back at him fondly, squeezing Jungkook’s hand where their fingers are linked together before he asks hesitantly, “Can I kiss you?”

The words _‘it’s always okay’_ come into Jungkook’s mind uninvited; an unpleasant reminder of how beautiful this moment always felt with Taehyung. But that moment is gone, and they’ve both moved on.

“Yes,” Jungkook answers simply instead.

Yugyeom leans closer, placing his hands gently on Jungkook’s waist, and Jungkook realises how much he’s missed this. The feeling of someone’s hands on his body; the feeling of being wanted, needed. The anticipation.

Then Yugyeom closes the distance between them and kisses him… and it’s – fine.

Nice, even.

Jungkook isn’t really sure how to describe it.

Perhaps it’s the fact Taehyung was the first boy he ever dated, or perhaps it has something to do with how they were on edge each time they kissed just in case somebody saw – Jungkook isn’t sure, but either way he knows that it’s different with Yugyeom.

Yugyeom pulls away and Jungkook leans in closer, pressing their lips together again just to test whether maybe the second time will be better. But it’s the same – not bad, just… a little anticlimactic. Suddenly kissing doesn’t feel so exciting to Jungkook anymore; instead it’s just something that happens. It’s probably only because it’s different, he reasons with himself. A different boy, a different relationship, a different experience. That makes sense. Jungkook figures he’ll get used to it soon enough.

 

***

 

That same night, on Saturday evening, Taehyung obliviously sits with Soonshim on his bed, talking to her about Jungkook. He’s determined to make a change; not just for Jungkook but for himself as well. It’s about time, and maybe Jungkook breaking things off with him was the shock back to reality that he needed. He can’t keep living like this, not if he ever wants to be happy. And he really does want to be happy someday.

Soonshim curls up on his lap, Taehyung gently scratching her behind the ears and chatting to her as he waits for his parents to get home. “I know I don’t deserve him,” he explains softly as he strokes her fur. “But I _want_ to deserve him. And people can change, right?” He looks at her questioningly, his hand paused just above her head.

Soonshim barks happily in response and leans up to bat Taehyung’s hand with her nose, who then resumes stroking her with a light chuckle.

“Yeah, I had a feeling you’d say that.” He smiles at her tenderly. “Thanks for listening to me ramble, anyway.” He pauses thoughtfully. “I think he was right, you know. I need to sort myself out before I can commit to him – but I’ll get there, I know I will.” He sighs. “I just hope that when I do, it will be enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so much lowkey angst ugh
> 
> anyway let me know what you think!! thanks for reading


	17. I’m helpless without you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung finds out about Jungkook and Yugyeom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for your comments on the last chapter, it makes me feel so motivated!! I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write over the next couple of weeks, but this chapter was ready so I thought I'd share it now :') Hope you like it! ^^

When V is about to leave dance class on Tuesday, he catches sight of Jungkook out of the corner of his eye and finds himself rooted to the spot. Jungkook looks happy – _really_ happy – as he stands there chatting to Yugyeom as if they’re best friends. Yugyeom is standing close, far too close, but it isn’t V’s place to be commenting on it anymore. The image alone makes V want to go over and get things out in the open – to say _hey, I’m not there yet, but I’ve been working on things and I’m already doing so much better than before. Maybe, if you could wait for me to sort things out, we could have another go at this._ It’s a selfish request, of course, but the desire to talk to Jungkook again is too strong to ignore. He doesn’t want to let go.

But before V gets a chance to gather sufficient courage to interrupt Jungkook’s conversation with Yugyeom, Bambam walks over and snaps him out of his trance. “You okay, V?” he says, seeming concerned.

“Yeah, why?” V says nonchalantly, trying to ignore Bambam’s worried gaze.

“You’ve just, uh.” He grimaces. “You’ve been staring at Jungkook without blinking for at least two minutes. It’s kind of disturbing.”

V gulps. “Right.” There’s no point in trying to deny it. And somehow, in all that time, Jungkook was too preoccupied with Yugyeom to even notice that V was looking directly at him. V feels miserable, and he’s sure that he looks it too.

Bambam winces, seeming extremely uncomfortable with the situation but deciding to plough on nonetheless. “I wanted to talk to you about him actually… I really think that you two should sort things out. I don’t think Jungkook is as happy without you as he seems.”

“Really?” V asks, latching onto Bambam’s words hopefully even though he doesn’t really want Jungkook to be sad. He doesn’t _know_ what he wants, if he’s honest, because Jungkook being unhappy is terrible but maybe Jungkook being happy without him is worse.

“Yeah,” Bambam sighs. “And I don’t know what happened between you to ruin things – Jungkook won’t tell me – but surely it can be fixed by saying sorry.”

V’s expression turns downcast as he instantly loses the little hope he had. “It’s not really that simple. I, uh.” He falters, not wanting to say the words because they sound too flippant and harsh, but he knows that it’s necessary to come to terms with what he’s done. “I cheated on him.”

Bambam’s eyes widen. “You did?” He groans. “Shit, man. That’s not cool.”

“I know,” V admits. “I didn’t mean to, but. It happened.”

Bambam frowns. “You didn’t _mean_ to? How can you do something like that accidentally?”

V smiles sadly. “It’s kind of complicated.” Even though it shouldn’t have been. But apparently V just likes to complicate things.

Bambam rolls his eyes. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to find a different solution to Jungkook getting back together with you, then,” he says decisively and V tries to ignore how much that hurts. How much Bambam thinks that they’re a lost cause. “Whether Jungkook realises it or not,” Bambam continues, “I feel like he only went out on that date with Yugyeom to get over you.”

V stares at him in shock. “He – he what?” he asks disbelievingly. He shifts his gaze again over to where Jungkook and Yugyeom are stood chatting to each other, and suddenly their proximity makes a lot more sense. Yugyeom brushes a hand through Jungkook’s hair, but it’s not the same type of friendly ruffle he saw that time he went to Bambam’s house for pizza night. It’s a slower action; more deliberate and undeniably romantic – and Jungkook leans into the touch. V looks away quickly and turns back to face Bambam. “They went on a date?” he asks, even though Bambam has already given him the answer.

Bambam looks at him in alarm. “You didn’t know?”

V shakes his head and Bambam grimaces.

“Shit. I thought you would know.”

V shrugs sadly. “We’re not exactly on speaking terms at the moment.” He stares at Jungkook from across the room, wondering if he’s already lost him. It’s only been a week.

“Yeah, but all the Pink Ladies know and I thought it would’ve come up in conversation. Nobody thought to tell you?” Bambam asks again, rather insistently. He can’t seem to believe it.

V chuckles humourlessly. “Why would they have any reason to? As far as they’re concerned, Jungkook and I hardly know each other.” He tries to ignore how much it hurts to say Jungkook’s name.

Bambam sighs frustratedly. “Shit, man. This is all so messed up.”

V raises his eyebrows. “You say ‘shit’ a lot,” he comments unnecessarily, because he doesn’t know how else to respond.

“That’s because this whole situation is pretty shit,” Bambam admits.

“You got that right,” V sighs, biting his lip to keep from complaining, because he’s not naïve; he knows that this is his fault. “Anyway, I’d better get going. Don’t want to miss the bus home.” He walks away without waiting for a reply, sparing Jungkook a final longing glance before leaving the dance studio.

 

***

 

“How’s Yugyeom?” Jisoo asks without preamble as she sits down at their regular lunch table. Nobody else has arrived yet and Jungkook looks up from his phone warily.

“Fine. Why?”

“You’re dating now,” Jisoo grins. “It’s only fair I ask about him as well as about you.”

Jungkook chuckles. “But you didn’t ask about me.”

“Oh,” Jisoo frowns. “Well then, how are you?”

“I just got off the phone with Yugyeom, so I’m pretty good,” Jungkook grins.

“Are you talking 24/7 now then?” Rosé asks as she sits down. She hasn’t brought up the conversation she and Jungkook had about being cheated on since it happened, which Jungkook is grateful for. He has a feeling Rosé realises she’s not supposed to pry – and, strangely enough, she’s respecting his wishes.

“Not exactly,” Jungkook answers as he subconsciously draws comparisons between Yugyeom and Taehyung. Taehyung would ring him every night to talk about nothing in particular, whereas Yugyeom only rings Jungkook if he actually has something to discuss. “He has tickets to a dance performance this Saturday. He was going to go with Youngjae, but then Youngjae dropped out, so he’s invited me.”

“Ooh, your second date,” Jisoo coos.

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees, fighting to hide his blush.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us on Saturday that it was an audition to see if he’d get along well with us,” Rosé comments as she picks at the chips on Jisoo’s plate.

“Hey!” Jisoo squeaks.

“I’ll share my dessert with you,” Rosé suggests as a peace offering.

Jisoo thinks about it for a second and then nods. “Deal.”

Jungkook coughs, with the distinct feeling that he’s interrupting even though he knows that Rosé is expecting a response from him. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want any of you to act as weirdly as Jimin did.”

Jisoo stifles a laugh. “ _That’s_ why he was being so strange? I was sat there thinking, _wow,_ _beauty school’s really changed you.”_

Jungkook laughs loudly. “You thought beauty school made him more nosy?”

Jisoo shrugs. “I didn’t have another reason for it.”

“Talking of being nosy, _I_ want to know where the hell Jin’s got to,” Rosé says pointedly. “He’s never this late.”

Jisoo smiles smugly. “We were just in a free together – I left him in the library. He’s with _Namjoon._ ”

Rosé’s jaw drops. “But it’s _lunch._ ”

“Yeah, well, you know what they say about love,” Jisoo comments knowledgeably. “It makes you act like someone completely different.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows wrinkle in distaste. “Do people really say that?”

“Hey, what are we talking about?” J-Hope asks cheerfully as he appears at the table, Suga and V right behind him. He drops a kiss to Rosé’s cheek and then settles into the seat next to her.

“Love,” Jisoo answers. (She misses the way V tenses and avoids eye contact.)

J-Hope frowns. “Why?”

“There are a lot of budding relationships right now,” Rosé explains. “Jin’s missing _lunch_ to study with Namjoon in the library; Jungkook’s got a boyfriend –”

Jungkook’s quiet “He’s not my boyfriend” is overshadowed by J-Hope’s enthusiastic “Hey, Jungkook, congrats! I didn’t know you were seeing anybody.”

“It’s pretty new,” Jungkook replies, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation. Not only are his friends trying to categorise his and Yugyeom’s relationship as something more serious than it is, but they’re unknowingly doing it in front of Jungkook’s _ex._ Jungkook sneaks a look at V and sees him looking pained, before V notices him looking and carefully schools his expression into something more nonchalant. But Jungkook saw it and now the image is etched into his brain.

He doesn’t like the idea that V is hurting because of him.

“Still, that’s awesome. Have you known him long?” J-Hope continues.

Jungkook worriedly flicks his gaze to V again before turning back to J-Hope. “We’ve been friends for a while. We go to the same dance group.”

“Hey, he’s a dancer too?” J-Hope asks excitedly. “I’d love to meet him some day. He sounds great.”

“He is,” Jungkook says, feeling happy that he has J-Hope’s approval, despite the awkwardness of the situation.

“They’re going out again on Saturday to a dance recital,” Jisoo discloses, watching as J-Hope nods in recognition.

“Oh, I heard about that – it looks like a great show! I’m pissed I can’t make it. I’ve already got plans to hang out with this one,” he says, wrapping an arm around Rosé’s waist, who grins at the gesture. “You’ll have to tell me all about it though!”

“I will,” Jungkook agrees, a grin spreading across his face inadvertently. It feels nice being able to talk about his love life with his friends; to hear their opinions on the dates Jungkook goes on and the dynamic of his relationship. It’s refreshing.

“Can we please stop with all the couple talk?” Suga cuts in, sounding annoyed. None of them are insensitive enough to ask, but they all understand that it’s because he misses Jimin. Jimin and Suga may still see each other at weekends – not that they broadcast that information to their friends – but it’s impacting Suga’s life a lot more than he thought it would; walking around the school corridors with the knowledge that he’s definitely not going to bump into Jimin. None of Suga’s days have been quite as bright since he left.

“Yeah, we can talk about something else,” Jungkook agrees readily, glad for the opportunity to stop talking about Yugyeom in front of V. ‘Awkward’ may be a default state for Jungkook, but this conversation is amplifying that feeling to the extreme.

V releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding, thankful that the conversation is moving onto a new topic. He’s glad Suga said something because it would definitely look suspicious if he said anything himself. But he still can’t help feeling awful, having to listen to what a great time Jungkook is having dating somebody else. Somebody who’s _not him._

He doesn’t want Jungkook to be miserable. But he also doesn’t think it’s fair that Jungkook looks so _okay_ when V has to make a constant effort just to hold himself together.

“You know you could just leave,” Rosé suggests to Suga, although not unkindly. She sounds somewhat sympathetic.

“You’re right; I’ve got better places to be, anyway,” Suga says. Even if that better place is merely back to the lunch table to keep LE and Hani company before the bell goes. “You coming, V?” he adds as he makes to turn away.

“Yeah, sure,” V says. His eyes linger on Jungkook before he shoves his hands in his pockets and walks away with Suga.

Jungkook stares after them.

“You okay, Jungkook?” Jisoo asks, mildly concerned. “You’re looking a little spaced out there.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Jungkook answers distractedly as his gaze settles on Jisoo. He frowns. “Does it make sense to miss someone? Even if you know that they needed to leave you so that they could figure out their own life?” ~~~~

J-Hope smirks. “Even if he knows Jimin’s better off at beauty school, that’s not going to stop Suga from missing him.”

Jungkook blinks, instantaneously coming back to his senses. Back to this reality, in which V is nothing but a mutual friend to him. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. You’re right.” He can’t help but think J-Hope’s logic applies rather well to his own situation.

“They’d better get their shit sorted eventually, though,” Rosé sighs. “I’m getting sick of seeing all of this pining after each other.”

Jungkook gulps. “Yeah, me too.”

 

***

 

“Hey, can I talk to you about something?” V asks Bambam when he runs into him at the bus stop that day after school.

Bambam looks around nervously. “Why?”

“Come on, we’re friends, right?” V says hopefully.

Bambam hesitates. “I’m not going to lie, V. Talking to you feels like I’m betraying Jungkook.” He shakes his head. “I still can’t believe what happened – I really thought you liked him.”

“I _do_ ,” V insists desperately. “I just – _please_. I have no one else to talk to.”

For the first time, Bambam notices how upset and desperate V looks – he wonders whether he wasn’t paying enough attention before, or whether V is just particularly good at hiding things.

Bambam sighs. “What are friends for?”

V smiles; a small, barely-there smile, but full of relief all the same. “Thank you. I need to get home and you’re probably busy tonight anyway, but how’s tomorrow?”

Bambam smiles comfortingly. “I’ll meet you after school. Shall we meet here? I’m walking Lisa to the bus stop anyway.”

“Sure,” V smiles gratefully. “Thank you for this.”

“No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

V lets out a relieved breath after he sits down on the bus, for the first time in a while feeling like he’s doing the right thing.

 

***

 

When the next day comes and V sees Bambam waiting at the bus stop, he smiles at him and walks over. “Thanks for agreeing to talk with me; this really means a lot,” he says honestly. He isn’t usually so outwardly thankful, but he figures he owes Bambam a lot – besides, he needs this conversation to go well.

V then looks around nervously, wondering whether they’re going to have to talk out in the open, and Bambam smiles comfortingly. “Did you want to go back to my house?”

V sighs, relieved. “Yeah, thanks.”

When they get back to Bambam’s house, Bambam’s mother smiles at her son in greeting and then looks at V curiously. “Date?” she asks Bambam.

V’s eyes widen. “No – no, I’m not –” He cuts himself off, realising how stupid it sounds. ‘I’m not gay.’ _Come on, V. The first step is to stop lying to yourself._

Bambam looks at V, noticing his internal dilemma. “No, mum, we’re just friends,” he finishes politely.

After they move into the living room, Bambam’s mother heads upstairs to get on with some work, leaving them alone. V is relieved about that because this topic feels very private to him and he doesn’t want anybody to overhear.

V sits down on the sofa and tries not to think about how the last time he was here, he was still seeing Jungkook and was even trying to warn Jungkook that Yugyeom may like him. So much has changed since then.

V looks at Bambam apprehensively. He feels nervous, but he needs to get straight into it before he chickens out. There isn’t any need to be worried about talking to Bambam, but knowing this doesn’t stop his heart from beating a little faster as he opens his mouth to speak. “I, uh, I wanted to ask you some things. I mean – just one thing, basically.” He cringes at himself, wondering whether Bambam notices how much he’s stuttering. He only does this when he’s really nervous. “How – how did you come to terms with yourself?” he asks carefully.

Bambam looks at him in surprise – apparently this isn’t the question he’d been anticipating. “You mean, like, being gay?” he asks, just to make sure.

“Yeah, that,” V responds, cursing himself inwardly for trying to avoid saying the word ‘gay’. He needs to get a grip.

“Well, it wasn’t that difficult, if I’m honest,” Bambam admits, settling into the sofa as if preparing to tell a long story. “Sorry; I know that’s not helpful, but it’s true. I always knew that I liked boys – the thing that took me a while was realising that that wasn’t the norm. But the people around me never made me feel inferior for it, and it was just something I accepted. I had to accept it, because if I ever wanted to have a relationship then I knew I couldn’t still be hiding in the closet or it wouldn’t work.” Bambam’s mouth suddenly drops open in belated realisation at what he’s said. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean for that to be a dig at you.”

“It’s fine,” V says tightly. He bites his lip. “How did you tell everyone?”

Bambam shrugs. “I didn’t, really. I never told everyone as a whole – I just told some of my closest friends, and then I told other people individually when it came up. You don’t have to do it all in one, you know. You can start by telling the person you trust the most.”

 _I did. But then I pushed him away._ “What if the person you tell tells someone else, though?” V asks anxiously. “How do you make sure that doesn’t happen?”

Bambam shakes his head. “There isn’t a way to make sure. I guess you just have to trust your gut.”

V sighs deeply. “In case you couldn’t tell, things aren’t going so great for me right now. I need to… get used to the idea of people knowing,” he explains.

Bambam nods, eager to help. “Okay, so you’re, what? Bisexual? Pan? Poly? I don’t know much about –”

“Actually I’m gay,” V interrupts, ignoring the blush that rises to his cheeks as he says it.

“Oh,” Bambam says in surprise. “I mean, I guess I shouldn’t have assumed, but with all those girls...”

“Yeah,” V acknowledges awkwardly.

“Oh,” Bambam repeats. This time it sounds sympathetic. “So when you said you cheated on him...” he frowns.

“I kissed a girl,” V explains, knowing what Bambam is trying to ask.

“But –”

“I know,” V cuts in before he can say anything else about it. “I know, okay?” His voice sounds a bit high-pitched and squeaky, like he’s whinging about the situation, but he can’t help it. He knows he screwed up.

“So,” Bambam says slowly, as if he’s trying to process it, “you cheating on Jungkook wasn’t about you being a dickhead, but more about you being insecure with your sexuality?”

V cringes at Bambam’s wording. “It’s a bit of both, I suppose. I mean, I could’ve quite happily been insecure without cheating on him,” he says, frustrated at himself.

“Yeah, that was stupid,” Bambam acknowledges. “But does he know that you’re gay?”

“Oh, yeah, he knows,” V nods. “But that doesn’t mean he was going to be okay with me kissing someone else.”

“Of course not,” Bambam shrugs, “but now I don’t think the situation is quite so hopeless.”

V looks at Bambam cautiously; wary of the dangers of beginning to hope things can be fixed, but hoping nonetheless. “What can I do?”

“For starters, stop kissing random girls,” Bambam suggests, somehow in a way that completely lacks any judgement. (Such a feat is commendable, really.) “Also, apologise. And just – try to come to terms with yourself. For _you_. But...” Bambam falters, unsure whether he should say it, but after a second he decides it’s necessary. “He really does look happy with Yugyeom, you know. I might have been wrong before, when I said that he went on the date for the wrong reasons. That was before I saw them sitting together on film night, and they seemed…” He cuts himself off, belatedly realising that everything he says about Jungkook and Yugyeom probably makes V feel even worse about the whole thing. “I just don’t think you should get in the way of what they have,” he finishes.

V nods sadly. That’s it then – he missed his chance. “He – he didn’t even wait a week,” he says quietly before he can stop himself.

“You didn’t even wait until you were broken up,” Bambam points out.

“Fuck, that’s true,” V sighs. “Okay, yeah. I guess you’re right. I should just – apologise, and fix things for myself. Be happy for him.”

“If you can,” Bambam says, sounding uncharacteristically gentle. “No one said you had to be happy for him; just don’t interfere.”

“Yeah,” V agrees. “I, um. Thanks for talking with me about this. I didn’t even mean for it to become about – about him,” he says, still being careful not to say Jungkook’s name out loud because he knows it will feel like his heart’s being ripped out all over again. “But… somehow it managed to be about him anyway. I guess everything always comes back to him in the end.”

Bambam looks at him sadly. “Hang in there, mate. You’ll get over him soon enough.”

 _I’m not sure I want to._ “Yeah, I guess,” V says noncommitally. “Thanks again. I’d better go, anyway. I said I’d go to J-Hope’s house after this and help the others with the truck,” he explains, already standing up to leave.

“You told them you were here?” Bambam says in surprise.

“No, I told them I was meeting Jennie,” he says guiltily. He hates that he’s still using her as an excuse, even after everything that’s happened.

“Is she the girl you kissed?” Bambam asks.

“Yeah.” V gulps, feeling extremely judged even though Bambam’s expression is unreadable.

“Do you still see her?”

“No,” V shakes his head. “No, that’s over.”

“Good,” Bambam nods.

“Yeah.”

“See you.”

“Bye.”

 

***

 

On Friday night, the Pink Ladies all meet up for a sleepover. It’s strange, really, how similar it feels to that first weekend at school: just like before, the five of them are sat in their pyjamas, trying to escape from Jimin and his beauty products. Jungkook can only thank the universe that this time it’s at Jisoo’s house rather than Jin’s; otherwise he may find himself drawing a lot more parallels. (Somewhere, deep inside, he still feels heartbroken over Taehyung, even if it’s buried too deep down for Jungkook to realise it.)

“Who’s up for having their hair dyed?” Jimin asks excitedly, bringing a bottle out of his bag and waving it around enticingly. Jungkook instinctively shies away, not eager to have a repeat of last year’s fluorescent hair dilemma. “I’ve never dyed your hair before, Rosé,” Jimin continues hopefully and Jungkook lets out a relieved breath.

“I’m allergic,” Rosé responds without hesitation.

Jimin looks at her in surprise. “You are? What’s the ingredient that you’re allergic to?”

“I don’t remember; just that it’s present in most hair dyes. It’s not worth taking the risk,” she explains breezily.

“Okay,” Jimin shrugs. “How about hair mousse then? I’ve got some of that too,” he says, rooting through his bag.

“No, I’m allergic to that too,” Rosé replies.

Jimin frowns. “Hair gel?”

“Allergic,” she says unapologetically.

“Are you allergic to everything?” Jimin pouts.

“I think she’s just allergic to you, Chim,” Jisoo explains, trying to hold back her laughter.

Jimin glares at Rosé. “If you don’t want to try it, you could’ve just said.”

“But then you would have been upset with me,” Rosé protests.

“Exactly. The result would’ve been the same either way, but now you’ve lied to me as well,” Jimin huffs.

“Cheer up, Chim,” Jisoo chuckles. “There are plenty of people at beauty school that you could experiment on, right?”

Jimin shakes his head nervously. “Not really. Not if I want to make a good impression. If I’m trying it out on anyone there, I need to do it _right_.”

“So we’re just your guinea pigs?” Jin asks, faintly amused.

“You said it, not me,” Jimin shrugs nonchalantly.

In the end, Jisoo ends up being this evening’s guinea pig. Jimin’s hair dyeing skills seem to have improved exponentially in the past couple of weeks, because her hair comes out a pretty red colour that none of them were expecting – including Jimin, but at least it looks nice.

***

 

Jungkook and Junghwa have a Skype date the next day, so Jungkook crawls out of his bed at 4pm after a long afternoon nap to catch up on his sleep and turns on his laptop. Soon enough he’s staring at Junghwa’s pixelated face, who seems far too awake for a Jungkook that’s just woken up.

“You’re far too awake,” Jungkook tells her.

Junghwa snorts. “It’s four in the afternoon,” she says pointedly. “Jesus, _I’m_ supposed to be the student here.”

Jungkook blinks at her blearily. “Did you just call me Jesus?” he frowns.

“Forget it,” Junghwa chuckles, taking pity on Jungkook’s half-awake state. “So, how are things going?” Her expression seems softer all of a sudden, and Jungkook only needs to think about it for a moment to realise that she’s asking about V. But Jungkook feels surprisingly okay about the whole thing, so he ignores her anxious expression and launches into detail about the Pink Lady sleepover last night.

Naturally, Yugyeom’s name comes into the mix, because the Pink Ladies spent a fair amount of time last night teasing Jungkook about his relationship. _It’s still pretty new,_ he’s been telling them repeatedly, because he doesn’t want them to get too involved too soon – but he doesn’t really mind because all the teasing just shows Jungkook that they’re happy for him.

Junghwa listens intently to Jungkook’s recount of the sleepover, but she still eyes him nervously as he speaks. It’s almost as if she thinks he’s going to burst into tears at any second. She’s acting normal, but there’s something about her demeanour that makes Jungkook feel like she’s stepping on eggshells around him – and he doesn’t like it one bit.

To help avoid any conflict about the ‘V’ issue, Jungkook for the most part tries to leave out the ‘Yugyeom’ aspect of the sleepover as he tells Junghwa about it, but she knows him well enough to recognise that he’s filtering his words.

“What are you hiding?” Junghwa asks curiously, leaning closer to the screen and peering closely at Jungkook.

“What are you talking about?” he scoffs.

“Hwook,” she protests, looking a little hurt. “You know you can talk to me.”

There’s an awkward silence.

“Yugyeom and I went on a date,” Jungkook blurts out suddenly.

He watches Junghwa’s face for some kind of reaction, and after a second’s delay he sees her frown. “Your friend from dance?” she questions.

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods.

“What was it like?” she asks him carefully.

“Fine,” Jungkook answers far too quickly. “I thought it would be weird. But it was nice. It was just like usual, except he held my hand and he kissed me at the end of it. We’re going out again tonight.”

Junghwa raises her eyebrows in surprise. It’s not that she isn’t happy for Jungkook, but it does seem awfully quick for him to start seeing someone new. She knows how invested Jungkook gets in people. “Do you want to date him?” she asks cautiously.

Jungkook shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, we had a great time together last Saturday,” he says fairly. “We get along really well and we have a lot of fun talking to each other. And, I mean, I guess he’s pretty cute, now that I think about it. So. It kind of makes sense.”

Junghwa snorts. “As logical as that sounds, Jungkook, I don’t think you should date someone just because it makes sense. It doesn’t sound like you really like him.”

“But maybe I could,” Jungkook says quietly. “I want to give him a chance. He deserves that much, at least.”

“You don’t owe him anything,” Junghwa points out sternly.

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you,” Jungkook mumbles. “I knew you’d make me feel weird about it.”

“If you’re feeling weird about it, that’s on you,” Junghwa says unapologetically. “I _know_ you, Jungkook. This is too soon.”

“I’m over him,” Jungkook argues determinedly.

“You’re _not_ over him,” Junghwa protests exasperatedly.

“I’m fine,” Jungkook says forcefully.

“For God’s sake, Jungkook,” she retorts, frustrated, “you’re _not_ fine –”

“I said I’m _fine_ ,” Jungkook says angrily, his voice too loud in comparison to the quiet house.

There’s a stunned silence as both of them stare at the computer screen, wondering what on earth just happened. They don’t usually fight.

“I’ve got to go,” Jungkook mutters, already reaching to end the call.

“Jungkook,” Junghwa starts, but she doesn’t have time to continue because Jungkook has already exited Skype and turned off his laptop.

 

***

 

Jungkook talks on the phone to Jimin the next day, gushing about how much fun he had on his second date with Yugyeom last night. After watching the dance performance, they went out to eat again. They even shared dessert, and Yugyeom kissed him again before he left. (Jungkook found that his mind started wandering as they kissed each other; wondering about how much homework he had left to do before Monday and how long it would take him to walk home and whether the stars out in the sky that night still looked as bright as they did back in November. He chalks his lack of concentration down to the fact that school is very demanding right now and he simply has a lot on his mind.)

“It sounds like you guys get on really well together,” Jimin chuckles.

“Yeah, we do,” Jungkook smiles, already feeling better about the situation. Junghwa hasn’t seen him and Yugyeom together – she has no point of reference.

He almost wants to ring her up just to gloat: ‘ _Jimin_ approves of our relationship.’ He can picture her reply in his head: ‘That’s because _Jimin_ doesn’t know that you only recently broke up with somebody else. Because you didn’t _tell him_. Some best friend, huh?’ (Unfortunately, the Junghwa in Jungkook’s head tends to be a lot harsher than the real-life Junghwa. Jungkook wonders whether maybe it has something to do with his own insecurities about the situation, but he quickly dismisses the thought.)

“Anyway, how are you?” Jungkook asks, bringing himself back to the conversation with Jimin. “Are classes going okay?”

Jimin hums noncommittally. “I don’t know. I’m still finding it really hard… I thought I would’ve got used to it by now.”

“You’ve only been there a couple of weeks,” Jungkook says comfortingly.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jimin replies. Jungkook can hear his smile through the phone. “It’s probably just that I’m not used to it yet – oh, hang on, I’m getting another call…” Jungkook hears a rustling on the other end of the line before Jimin speaks up again, sounding oddly anxious. “Can I call you back?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jungkook agrees immediately. “Is everything okay?”

“Probably,” Jimin answers, which doesn’t do anything to make Jungkook less worried. “I mean, it might be nothing, it’s just – it’s a friend who only tends to call when something’s wrong.” He carefully avoids saying Suga’s name; he kind of likes the thought of their weekend meet-ups remaining private. ~~~~

“Okay. Good luck with your friend. I’ll talk to you later,” Jungkook says, and then the line goes silent.

“Suga?” Jimin says as soon as Jungkook has gone.

“Jimin, fuck, I thought you weren’t going to pick up,” Suga mutters, his voice a peculiar mix of relief and extreme aggravation.

“Sorry, I had another call,” Jimin responds, even though there’s no need for him to apologise. Suga sounds upset and Jimin doesn’t like the thought of being the cause of it. “Are you okay?” he can’t help but ask.

“Can – can you come over?” Suga asks, tripping over his words a little.

Jimin is about to answer ‘of course’, just like he always does, when he realises what’s different about the wording.

Jimin blinks. In all the time they’ve been meeting up, Jimin has never once gone round to Suga’s house. “I – um, yeah, if you want?”

“Do you know where to go?” Suga continues insistently. There’s a thumping sound, like maybe somebody is walking up the stairs but too forcefully.

“Yeah,” Jimin says breathily, already rushing to the front door to put on his shoes and grab a coat. Something must be really wrong. “I’m on my way – do you want me to come in, or…?”

“No, I’ll meet you outside. Just – hurry,” Suga says. He sounds just as out of breath as Jimin, but Jimin doesn’t know the reason for it. He thinks he can hear shouting in the background.

“I’m on my way,” Jimin promises, before hanging up the phone and heading out the door.

 

***

 

“Yoongi!” a voice shrieks from inside the house as Jimin waits anxiously by the front door.

Suga appears in the hallway and opens the door, nodding at Jimin as a silent greeting. Jimin doesn’t comment on it, but he sees a hint of barely-concealed sadness and better-concealed relief before Suga turns to look back at the house and his anger comes out full-force, leaving no room on his face for any other emotions.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me, Min Yoongi!” Suga’s mother yells, appearing at the top of the staircase with a thunderous look on her face.

Suga slams the door on his way out.

He starts walking immediately and Jimin hurries to catch up to him, but there’s no need because Suga stops suddenly as soon as he reaches the end of the street. “Sorry for storming off,” he starts, and Jimin knows in that moment that something serious must have happened, because Suga rarely apologises, even when he knows he’s done something wrong. “I just needed to put some distance between me and that house before I could talk about this.”

Jimin never asks why Suga doesn’t call it ‘home’.

“You want to talk about it?” Jimin asks, mildly surprised. Whenever he suggests that they talk things through, the answer is always no.

“I think I need to,” Suga admits.

They begin walking together in silence, with no need to discuss where they’re going. By this point, they both know that Jimin’s house is Suga’s safe place.

“Suga…” Jimin says nervously after they’ve been walking for a couple of minutes. Suga nods to show that Jimin has his attention, so he continues. “I heard your name, when you opened the door and your mum was yelling,” he explains anxiously. “She called you Yoongi, right? I can pretend I didn’t hear it, if you want. But I thought I should mention it.”

Suga smiles, which Jimin most certainly was not expecting. “It’s fine. I’d been meaning to tell you, anyway. It’s just a name, right?” he shrugs.

Jimin bites his lip. For most people, a name is just a name, but Jimin knows that for Suga – no, for _Yoongi_ – it’s more than that. It’s an association with his family; an association with his personal life that he’s constantly trying to get away from.

“Jimin, it’s okay,” Yoongi reiterates, taking hold of Jimin’s hand and squeezing it to get his attention. “I want you to know _me_. Not just Suga, but Yoongi too.”

Jimin laughs, attempting to focus on Yoongi’s words rather than how soft his hand is, or how tightly it’s still holding onto his own. “You’re making it sound like you’re some sort of superhero, or something,” he says, trying to lighten the mood. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“You’re the one who made it sound so secretive,” Yoongi laughs.

“Sure,” Jimin scoffs. “ _I’m_ the one who decided that you should neglect to tell anyone your real name and instead go by a sickly-sweet nickname that lulls people into a false sense of security, in which they think they’ll be greeted by a kind, friendly young man and instead get stuck with _you_ ,” he teases.

Yoongi snorts. “Well _someone’s_ feeling salty about it.”

“Why did you choose ‘Suga’, anyway?” Jimin frowns. “I mean – _really_?”

“J-Hope came up with it,” Yoongi shrugs. “It was meant ironically, I guess, and then it just kind of stuck.”

“Yoongi,” Jimin says, trying out the word on his tongue.

“Yes?” Yoongi says with a raise of his eyebrows.

Jimin blushes. “Nothing. I’m just testing how it sounds.”

“Saying it out loud won’t change the name,” Yoongi smirks.

“I know,” Jimin huffs.

The atmosphere as they walk back to Jimin’s house remains playful, but as soon as they get inside and take a seat on the sofa, things suddenly become much more stilted.

Jimin opens his mouth, ready to ask the usual questions, but before he has a chance to say anything, Yoongi mutters, “Hot chocolate, please.”

“Okay,” Jimin says softly. Needless to say, this isn’t good. He smiles, for Yoongi’s sake, but the smile disappears as soon as he enters the kitchen. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t worried. The shouting Jimin heard over the phone and again at Yoongi’s house does nothing to appease his anxiousness.

Yoongi waits on the sofa for Jimin to get back, too tired from today’s events to bother getting up to watch Jimin make the drink.

Jimin re-enters the room, clutching Yoongi’s hot chocolate in his small hands. The mug is bigger than usual and Jimin has placed a few extra marshmallows on top, which Yoongi doesn’t fail to notice. It makes him feel cared for, even in the most simple, unimportant way. It’s incredible how the small gestures can tell you more about a person than anything else.

Jimin hands Yoongi his drink and perches on the edge of the sofa, looking at Yoongi expectantly. He knows that Yoongi will speak when he’s ready.

Yoongi takes a sip of his hot chocolate and then looks up at Jimin. “My parents are getting a divorce.”

Jimin’s eyes widen. He definitely wasn’t expecting _that_ announcement.

In a spurt of nervous energy, Jimin stands up abruptly from the sofa and heads back into the kitchen. Yoongi stares after him in confusion, because _really?_ He tells Jimin something personal like that, where it’s obvious that he’s in need of more comfort than usual, and Jimin just leaves?

Jimin reappears in the doorway, holding a bottle of squirty cream. “This is reserved for special occasions,” he announces, “but I think you’ve earned it.”

Yoongi wordlessly holds out his mug and Jimin squirts a generous serving of cream on the top.

“Oh, I forgot to get you a spoon, let me just –”

“Jimin,” Yoongi interrupts gently. “It doesn’t matter. Just… sit with me.”

“Okay,” Jimin nods. He takes a seat next to Yoongi and tries hard to conceal his nervousness.

He has no idea how to deal with such a big event in Yoongi’s life. Why did Yoongi come to _him?_ Yoongi has better friends – friends who know much more about him than Jimin does. LE could sympathise with Yoongi’s tough family life and maybe offer some useful advice. Hani can make light of any situation, even something like this, and she could make Yoongi smile involuntarily at the most ridiculous of things until he feels better. V could distract Yoongi with his bright smile and complain about his own insignificant problems until Yoongi felt like he wasn’t in such a difficult position after all; like none of this had to be a big deal. And J-Hope – he’s known all about Yoongi’s family issues, right from when they first started, and he would surely be able to help Yoongi.

But Jimin? He has no clue what he’s supposed to do.

“I feel good, you know,” Yoongi says quietly, breaking Jimin out of his thoughts.

 _“Why?”_ Jimin asks, unable to stop the question from spilling over his lips. Yoongi’s parents are breaking up – how could that possibly feel good?

“Well, maybe not good exactly, but I feel okay,” he amends. “They’ve been fighting for years, you know? Finally they’ve realised that it’s better to call it quits than to keep going with something that isn’t working for them anymore. And I guess in a weird way, I feel proud of them. You know – for realising.” He looks at Jimin apprehensively and Jimin realises that Yoongi is seeking his approval.

“That makes sense,” Jimin acknowledges. Yoongi nods and takes a sip of his hot chocolate. “Did you see it coming, then?” Jimin questions. He thought that no children ever saw their parents’ divorce coming, but it sounds like Yoongi has been expecting it for a while.

“I’ve been waiting for it,” Yoongi admits. “Maybe it sounds awful, but ever since I started to see them as real people and not just my parents, I never thought they were a good fit for each other.”

Jimin winces. “Really?” He can’t imagine having to grow up waiting for his parents to split up.

“Yeah,” Yoongi sighs. His hands are clutching the mug of hot chocolate tightly, appreciating the warmth that it brings to his cold fingers. “You may not believe it from what you saw just now, but my mum is a good person,” Suga says, his tone of voice a little defensive. “She’s usually really kind and always smiling at everything. But dad’s never been like that – he’s bitter, short-tempered, difficult to communicate with… a lot like me, I guess.”

Jimin shakes his head, because Yoongi isn’t any of those things, but Yoongi isn’t looking at him anymore. He’s staring at his hot chocolate, as if he’s talking to the drink instead of to Jimin.

“He means well, sure,” Yoongi continues, “but he doesn’t know how to express himself. And mum’s usually so open, but the more she tries to get him to open up too, the more he closes off.”

“That sounds a bit like us,” Jimin notes. He cringes, because he didn’t mean to say that out loud, but Yoongi doesn’t notice that Jimin’s admission is accidental.

“No,” Yoongi denies immediately, looking up from his drink to stare into Jimin’s eyes. “We’d be different.”

Jimin frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Just – we balance each other out,” Yoongi explains. “When I’m rude, you’re nice enough to forgive me without any questions. And when you’re feeling uptight about something, I’m laidback enough that it helps calm you down. It’s just different.” Yoongi looks down at his drink, taking another sip. He knows that he’s vulnerable right now; that his emotions are all over the place, but he doesn’t want to see Jimin’s face and realise that he understands what Yoongi is inadvertently admitting. _They would work well together._

“Is that not how it is with your parents?” Jimin prompts, choosing for now to ignore how uncharacteristically gentle and soft Yoongi is in this moment. He knows that Yoongi isn’t feeling entirely himself right now, and it would be incredibly self-centred to turn a talk about his parents’ divorce into a talk about their potential relationship. Now isn’t the time to get into that. (Perhaps another time, Jimin considers, now that he knows Yoongi thinks they balance each other out well. Maybe, just maybe, Jimin’s hopes of a relationship between them aren’t so far-fetched after all.)

Yoongi sighs. “No. Instead of mum’s kindness making dad kinder, his bitterness turned her bitter. She got too frustrated with him, I suppose. She picked up his short temper and started to yell at him when he refused to talk to her.” Yoongi stares into his hot chocolate unseeingly. “Each time she yelled at him like that, he would withdraw, trying to give her space so that they could fix things, but she didn’t _want_ space. She needed _proximity_ and to feel like he wanted to be close to her and he – never understood that. He never understood _her._ ” Yoongi shakes his head tiredly. “People always say there’s a thin line between love and hate, but I think my parents only just realised that they’re on the wrong side of the line.”

Jimin looks at Yoongi sympathetically. “I can’t imagine having to grow up with that,” he says quietly.

“I knew they were having problems,” Yoongi admits. “I’d hear them arguing, but then I’d see them talking to each other and acting like they were fine whenever we were around. They’d pretend, for our sake. Then it got less secretive and they started to argue openly, even when we had family or friends round – so I stopped inviting friends over to my house and we also stopped going out as a family. It only ever caused a scene, so we just gave up.”

Jimin remains silent, knowing that Yoongi probably hasn’t ever talked about this in so much detail before and that he needs to get it off his chest. ~~~~

“This past year has been the worst. They both started to turn on me and my brother, even though we never _did_ anything. And when I realised that they would attack me whenever they could, I started escaping to yours each time before they got the chance.” Yoongi looks at Jimin guiltily. “I know I never really explained why I kept asking to come over – I think I just told you that my parents were being dickheads and you accepted that as the whole reason, God knows why – but I’m telling you now.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Jimin says softly.

“I know. But I _want_ to explain it to you,” Yoongi says. His voice is urgent, like he has so much to say and not enough time to say it. “I don’t want to become like my dad. I don’t want to be the person who’s so afraid to say they’re in love that they never really get to experience what love is.” Yoongi looks at Jimin pleadingly, pleading for him to understand, and Jimin looks back, waiting for a confession that doesn’t come.

“Then talk,” Jimin urges gently when Yoongi remains silent. “Open up.”

Yoongi shakes his head defeatedly, feeling overwhelmingly deflated. “I’ve talked enough for today,” he murmurs. He doesn’t have any energy left to continue. “But… I’m going to try and be more open in the future. It’s – a process.”

“Yeah, it is,” Jimin agrees encouragingly. “And, for what it’s worth, I’m proud of you, Yoongi. Thank you for telling me,” he adds softly.

Yoongi smiles. “Thank you for listening. And for the hot chocolate, of course.”

“Oh, of course,” Jimin smiles back. “Are you sure that isn’t the only reason you came round?” he jokes.

Yoongi shrugs. “It’s definitely a perk, but I suppose the company isn’t too bad either.”

Jimin grins. “Eh, well, you’re not too bad yourself.”

“Can –” Yoongi cuts himself off; takes another sip of hot chocolate before trying again. “Can I stay here tonight? Maybe? I really don’t want to go back home.”

This is the most vulnerable that Jimin has ever heard him. But even before Yoongi finishes asking, Jimin already knows what his answer will be. “Of course,” he replies, smiling softly at Yoongi.

Yoongi smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Comments are always appreciated, I love discussing the characters ^.^


	18. since you pushed my love aside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> V isn’t acting like himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii it’s been so long I’m sorry. I’ve been busy and also sad and also my beta has been super busy and is basically too busy to beta this story for me anymore (i cri) so apologies for any mistakes in here! I did my best but if there are any typos or words I used in the wrong way or anything pls let me know in the comments so I can fix it lol. anywayyy
> 
> ALSO I’ve added a pairing (surprise!) bc I need a little more lesbian in my life. (even though Lisa’s bi in this fic, but ‘f/f relationships’ reads a bit weird so??) So yeahhh check the tags if you haven’t already. It’s not an important pairing just yet, but all going well I should be able to explore it more later ^^
> 
> let’s goooooo

“Have you guys seen V today?” Hani asks as she sits down at the lunch table. Suga’s either working or skipping, nobody’s sure which, and with Jimin gone too, there’s just enough room for all the Pink Ladies and T-Birds to squeeze round the same table.

“No,” J-Hope answers. “He’s probably skipping.”

Jungkook looks up. “Does he do that a lot?” he can’t help but ask.

LE hums thoughtfully. “He used to skip all the time. Pretty sure today is the first time this year, though – it’s almost like he thinks there’s actually something worth coming in for,” she deadpans.

Jin chuckles. “I guess it took him long enough to realise he should take his A Levels seriously.”

Jungkook frowns at this new information. When they met over summer, V talked to him about how he skipped school a lot, but Jungkook never connected that to the fact that he hasn’t done it at all this year. For a brief moment, Jungkook entertains the thought that the reason V kept coming into school was because of _him._ How maybe V was making much more of an effort to change than Jungkook ever realised.

Then the conversation moves on, and so does Jungkook.

Jisoo is in the middle of explaining the story behind why her hair is now bright red when Hani catches sight of V out of the corner of her eye. “Guys – I don’t mean to interrupt, but that’s him, right?” Hani says urgently, looking around the table with wide eyes. “I swear it’s V, but he looks… different.”

Hani’s right, in both respects. The others turn in their seats to watch V walking over, wearing a random band’s tour t-shirt and a pair of baggy tracksuit bottoms.

“Are those _trainers?_ ” Jisoo asks, aghast. Being interested in fashion herself, she has always admired V’s taste in clothes, but today V’s exhibiting the least stylish clothes he’s ever worn _._ Did he even make an effort, or did he simply crawl out of bed and head straight to school without bothering to get changed? ~~~~

As V approaches the table, his friends realise just how messy his hair is. V hasn’t bothered with his trademark eyeliner today, either, which Jungkook thinks is probably just as well because the makeup would draw more attention to his puffy, bloodshot eyes.

“Where have you been?” Hani asks as V sits down.

J-Hope at her sternly while V isn’t looking, before directing the same look at all the others. It’s clear that V’s having a bad day, but J-Hope doesn’t want anyone to pressure him to talk about it. Unfortunately, he’s learnt from experience that pressuring V to talk about things he doesn’t want to usually ends up in him withdrawing from any vaguely serious conversations until they get the hint.

“Oh, I missed the bus, so I had to walk,” V explains, his voice scratchy.

Jungkook stares at him incredulously as the others shrug and accept the answer. Jungkook turns his attention to his friends, bewildered. Do none of them know how far away his house is?

Nobody asks why it took V all morning to reach the school by foot, so V doesn’t bother trying to explain. He ignores the concerned look Jungkook shoots his way as he pinches some food from Jin’s plate.

Maybe it’s a test, or maybe V is simply too out of sorts to remember Jin is the last person he should be stealing food from, but after staring at him carefully for a moment, Jin nods in acceptance and pushes his tray towards V.

“Oh – thanks,” V mumbles distractedly around a mouthful of food. “I forgot to get any when I came in.”

“How did you forget to get food?” Jisoo asks, confused and mildly concerned. “You have to walk past all the food to get to the seating.”

V blinks. “I must have just missed it.” He then looks around at his friends and, for the first time, notices that they’re all staring at him in badly-concealed shock as they try to act like everything’s normal.

LE is the first to break. “Uh, dude, are you okay?”

V tenses before visibly deflating. He pushes the half-eaten plate of food back across the table in front of Jin, before standing up abruptly. “I’ll see you guys later,” he mutters as he walks away.

Even his walk is different. It isn’t arrogant or sexy or proud – just defeated.

“What the hell was that?” Jisoo hisses across the table, aware that V is still within earshot.

“I have no idea,” J-Hope says, sounding concerned. “I’ve never seen him like that before.”

 _Neither have I_ , Jungkook wants to say, but he holds his tongue because he knows that it wouldn’t seem like an important detail to the others.

“He was completely fine when I saw him yesterday,” Hani discloses. “Something must have happened either last night or this morning…”

“He’ll probably be back to normal by tomorrow,” J-Hope says hopefully. The others nod their agreement and then the conversation moves on, but this time Jungkook’s mind stays stuck on Taehyung for much longer than it probably should. ~~~~

***

 

“How were classes?” Yoongi asks when Jimin walks in the door that afternoon.

Jimin looks taken aback for a second, but then he smiles. “You’re still here.”

Yoongi blinks. “Did you want me to leave?”

“No,” Jimin responds, a little too quickly. “I just – I wasn’t expecting it. Anyway, yeah, classes were great,” he lies. “How was watching TV all day instead of going to school?” he grins cheekily as he sits next to Yoongi on the sofa.

“I had a shift at work in the morning,” Yoongi protests half-heartedly. “And it was probably a lot better than struggling through a day of beauty school and then lying about it,” he says pointedly.

Jimin slumps further into the sofa cushions, visibly deflating. “Why is it so difficult?” he groans, giving up all pretence. “I thought the reason I wasn’t any good at this stuff before was because I wasn’t learning it from the professionals. Now I _am_ learning from the professionals, but I _still_ suck.”

“You don’t suck,” Yoongi says comfortingly. “You’re just better at other things.”

“Not helping, Yoongi,” Jimin grumbles.

“Seriously, you’re so smart,” Yoongi continues insistently. “If this isn’t going to work out, do something else. It doesn’t mean you can’t be interested in beauty anymore; you can just keep it as a hobby.”

Jimin frowns. “I just have to try harder,” he says determinedly. “I’ll practice more and do more independent work and pay more attention in class. I’ll finish this course if it’s the last thing I do.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “There’s no hope of getting through to you, is there?”

Jimin grins. “Being stubborn isn’t a bad thing.” He then pauses and looks at Yoongi contemplatively. “Having said that, it isn’t always the best thing, either. You know you can’t avoid your parents forever, Yoongi.”

Yoongi sighs, leaning back onto the sofa cushions and therein replicating Jimin’s lounging position. “I know. But I can avoid them for _now_.”

Jimin chuckles. “I guess we’re both as stubborn as each other. Right,” he says decisively as he picks up the remote control. “Do you want to watch a film again tonight?”

“Sure,” Yoongi smiles.

Jimin smiles back. “Okay, great.” He pauses, hesitating. “But… Yoongi –”

“I’ll go back tonight,” Yoongi interjects, knowing what Jimin is trying to say.

“You just need to talk to them. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think it will,” Jimin says softly.

Yoongi cocks an eyebrow. “And if it is?” he grumbles.

Jimin smiles gently. “Then just come back here.”

 

***

 

Yoongi doesn’t come back to Jimin’s that evening, but he does text him to express his gratitude. Jimin opens the text as soon as he sees Yoongi’s name flash across his screen.

**thank you for everything**

Jimin stares at his screen for far too long before screenshotting the message. It’s short and undescriptive, but Jimin wouldn’t expect anything different from Yoongi. He knows that Yoongi will tell him the details later, but for now Jimin is content in the knowledge that Yoongi is okay – especially if he was able to help, even if only a little.

That night Jimin falls asleep smiling.

 

***

 

About forty minutes into Casino Royale on Tuesday night, Yugyeom pauses the TV to go and get more snacks, which is frustrating because Yugyeom’s arm around Jungkook’s shoulders was serving as quite a useful distraction for him. Yugyeom is nice and fun and distracting but now that he’s left, Jungkook finds himself thinking about Taehyung again.

Jungkook’s mind flashes back to how Taehyung turned up to school today, still dressed in slacks and with no makeup, and spent the day on his own, refusing to talk to anyone. This time he remembered to get food when he came to lunch, but he completely ignored his friends when they waved him over and instead sat on his own at an empty table. Jungkook was seriously contemplating going to talk to him, just to check if he was alright, but Taehyung left after only a few minutes, his food largely left untouched.

It’s concerning for everyone, especially because Taehyung still hasn’t confided in any of his friends to tell them what’s wrong. Jungkook finds himself wishing he could help, but then he remembers that _Taehyung_ was the one to push _him_ aside. If Taehyung wants his help, he’ll have to approach Jungkook himself.

Jungkook really wishes he would talk to _someone_ , though.

Jungkook is busy shifting in his seat restlessly when a voice interrupts his thoughts. “Jungkook,” Bambam says to get his attention, “you’ve been kind of jittery tonight. What’s up?”

Jungkook sighs, giving into the need to discuss it with someone. “He wasn’t there tonight. That’s not normal, right?”

Bambam frowns. “Are you talking about V?”

“It’s not like him to miss rehearsals,” Jungkook continues, more to himself than to Bambam. Even when things were rough between them, Taehyung would still show up to dance each week – but he wasn’t there tonight. “Something’s definitely wrong,” Jungkook concludes. He then sees Bambam staring at him and frowns. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You haven’t brought him up since the breakup – it’s weird, okay?” Bambam defends himself.

Jungkook looks down at the floor. “I’m just worried.”

Bambam sits up in his seat. “By the way, while we’re on this topic, I meant to tell you – I met up with V last week. He just wanted to talk about some stuff, personal stuff, but I thought I should let you know.”

Jungkook snaps his head towards Bambam. “When?” he asks urgently.

Bambam looks taken aback, not expecting this reaction. Maybe a sudden change of subject, or a sad smile or even _anger_ , but certainly not an intense interest in the details. “Um, Thursday? Why are you freaking out?” Bambam says warily.

Jungkook shrugs sadly. If it happened before the weekend then it can’t be the reason for Taehyung’s strange behaviour. “It doesn’t matter. Why are you telling me, anyway?”

Bambam winces. “I just didn’t want you to think I was going behind your back or anything.”

Jungkook frowns. “I didn’t expect you to take sides.”

“Good. Because that would be difficult, considering you never actually told me what happened,” Bambam says pointedly.

Jungkook gulps. “Yeah, fair enough.”

Bambam’s gaze softens. “Are you planning on telling me, ever?” he prompts.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jungkook mumbles.

“Haven’t you moved on?” Bambam insists.

“That doesn’t mean I want to talk about it,” Jungkook says irritably.

“You’re the one who brought it up,” Bambam retorts, mildly annoyed.

“That’s not the point,” Jungkook hisses.

“What’s not the point?” Yugyeom asks as he re-enters the room, settling down onto the sofa and putting his arm round Jungkook, who curls into his chest.

“We were just arguing about the plot,” Jungkook mutters.

“You should know better than to argue with Bambam over something as serious as James Bond,” Yugyeom chuckles before pressing play.

 

***

 

That night, Jimin gets a phone call from Yoongi. He’s immediately worried, because Yoongi always calls when there are issues with his parents and it was _Jimin’s_ idea for him to go back, but the worry turns to pleasant surprise when Yoongi explains that he simply missed talking to him.

“I got used to you being there all the time while I was round your house,” Yoongi explains. “It was weird not seeing you today.”

Jimin grins widely, thankful for the fact that the phone won’t give away his facial expressions. (Yoongi might be a little scared by how happy that simple statement could make Jimin.) “I missed you too,” Jimin says softly, understanding what Yoongi is trying to say. “Did you go back to school?”

“No, I wallowed,” Yoongi answers honestly. If he’s making an effort to be more open, he may as well start small. “But I’m going back tomorrow. Talking of which, are you busy tomorrow? I – I want to see you,” he adds hesitantly, his voice trailing off at the end, uncharacteristically gentle.

Jimin’s grin gets even wider. “I’m not busy. Did you want to do something?” he asks eagerly, but then he remembers. “Oh – wait. I’m meeting up with the Pink Ladies tomorrow.”

Yoongi frowns. “Oh, okay, that’s fine. I – uh, I’ll see you around?” he says slowly. He can’t figure out if this is Jimin’s way of letting him down easy.

“How about Thursday?” Jimin says, albeit a little desperately.

Yoongi smiles, relieved. “Thursday’s good. Shall I come to yours?”

“Why don’t we go out?” Jimin responds. “It’d be more interesting to actually go and do something.”

“We could do that,” Yoongi agrees. “What type of thing are you thinking?”

“I haven’t really had time to think about it yet,” Jimin chuckles. “Oh, I know – there’s this restaurant that Jin’s been talking about lately; he went there and reviewed it on his blog and apparently it’s really good. We could go out to eat?”

Yoongi blinks. He’s met up with Jimin lots of times, but it’s never been anything… _fancy_. And a restaurant definitely screams ‘dinner date’. “Are you asking me out?” Yoongi teases, but he’s really asking because he wants to know.

Jimin’s eyes widen. “Fuck, am I?” he says in realisation. “I mean.” _Shit._ He’s been picturing this moment for almost two years and now he’s gone and done it _accidentally._ Jimin does _not_ feel mentally prepared for this. He takes a deep breath and continues. “Technically, we’d be out, and I’m asking, so…?”

He cringes to himself, but then he hears Yoongi laugh happily.

“Just tell me the address and the time. I’ll see you there.”

 

***

 

Suga turns up to school on Wednesday and is immediately engulfed into a (non-consensual) hug on behalf of Hani. “Dude, where were you the past couple days?” she asks emphatically. LE smiles at him apologetically for the ambush as they walk from the gates into school.

“I’ve been working,” Suga says casually. “Anyway, I’ve skipped before, what’s the big deal?”

“Did something happen between you and V?” LE asks in response.

Suga frowns. “What are you talking about?”

Hani sighs frustratedly. “Damn it. That was our only lead.”

“What’s going on? And where are the others?” he asks, noticing that V and J-Hope aren’t waiting at their usual hangout spot.

“J-Hope went to find V,” LE answers. “We’re all worried about him; he’s been really weird this week. J-Hope’s hoping he can wheedle some information out of him, but since you haven’t been around and V’s been acting strange, we wondered if maybe you two got into a fight or something.”

“No, I haven’t seen him since Friday,” Suga explains apologetically. “Is he okay?”

“Hopefully,” Hani replies, her voice a notch quieter than usual. “I hope nothing serious is going on. But you know he never talks to us about anything.”

Suga nods in acknowledgement. “J-Hope is our best bet.”

“Yeah,” LE sighs. “And if that doesn’t help, we’ll just have to hope that whatever this is will be over soon.”

 

***

 

That afternoon, Jungkook and Jisoo walk to the café together straight after school, having arranged to meet Jimin there. Rosé is joining them too, after she’s gone back to J-Hope’s to get changed, and Jin is joining them after his study session with Namjoon in the library.

Jisoo and Jungkook take a detour through the park because they don’t want to arrive _too_ early, but they can only look at so many trees before Jisoo starts complaining that she’s bored and her feet hurt. (Why does she always wear high heels to school? Jungkook wonders passively.) So, soon enough, they arrive at the café and walk in through the doors, obliviously passing by the table where Bambam and Lisa are sat together sipping on hot chocolate.

As they walk past, Jisoo’s bright red hair catches Lisa’s attention and she finds herself staring. This in itself isn’t uncommon, because there are a lot of attractive people in the world, but _damn_ that girl has a cute smile. Bambam’s voice fades into the background as Lisa stares at the girl, wondering who on earth she is (and whether the universe could possibly be so kind as to let her be gay).

“Are you even listening to me?” Bambam says after a few seconds of trying to ignore Lisa’s distractedness.

“No,” Lisa responds unapologetically.

Bambam follows her gaze, then his eyes widen in surprise. “Oh, that’s Jungkook. Jungkook, hi!” he yells, oblivious to the fact that his shouting in an otherwise-quiet café might be considered as rude.

Jungkook turns around in surprise and then grins when he catches Bambam’s gaze, before he turns and says something to the girl he’s with. She smiles and nods and the next thing Lisa knows, Jungkook and the mysterious cute girl are sat with them at their table.

“Sorry I didn’t see you; I would’ve come over to say hi,” Jungkook say apologetically to Bambam as he puts his Pink Lady jacket on the back of his chair. The girl follows suit, and Lisa realises belatedly that she’s staring.

“Hey, I’m Lisa. It’s good to meet you,” she says with a bright smile, hoping that the girl didn’t notice how Lisa was blatantly checking her out.

“Jisoo,” the girl introduces herself in response, with just as bright a smile. “It’s good to meet you, too. You’re friends with Bambam?”

“Not sure I’d say friends. I put up with him,” Lisa grins.

“Lisa dances too,” Bambam explains to both of them. “That’s actually how we met – she used to go to the same class we do, Jungkook, but she left a couple of years ago in pursuit of _better things_ ,” he says, a slight bitterness to his tone of voice.

Lisa rolls her eyes jokily. “I thought you’d have got over that by now, but apparently not.”

“You deserted me,” Bambam shrugs casually, which Lisa decides not to dignify with an answer.

“So you’re a Pink Lady?” Lisa asks instead, as she turns her attention back to Jisoo, who nods. “I’m surprised we haven’t met before, actually,” she continues casually. “I used to date V.”

(Jungkook stiffens and Bambam shoots him a worried look. Jungkook avoids his gaze and adamantly stares at the table.)

Jisoo grins. “Who didn’t?” she laughs, and Lisa laughs along with her.

Lisa has a nice laugh.

Lisa has a nice face too, come to think of it. Jisoo makes a mental note to ask her whether she’s wearing really subtle makeup, or whether she’s simply blessed with beauty.

“You said that with a lot of confidence,” Lisa says, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Did you date him too?”

Jisoo laughs again. “God, no. He’s not… my _type_.”

Lisa raises an eyebrow – could she really be lucky enough to meet a beautiful girl who’s also attracted to girls? “What _is_ your type?” she asks curiously.

Jisoo shrugs. “Lately I’m not so sure. I’ve been dating all sorts of people, but no one’s interested me,” she says casually, not understanding the subtext to Lisa’s question. “What’s your type?” she asks, because it only seems polite to return the question.

“I’m open to dating anyone,” Lisa replies. “You have to be cute, though,” she adds with a cheeky smile, mistaking Jisoo’s obliviousness for flirting.

Jisoo smiles back, because it makes sense that someone like Lisa would want to date somebody who’s as cute as she is.

The four of them continue chatting for a few minutes, conversation flowing easily as they get to know each other – even if Jisoo is a little distracted by Lisa. She’s seriously contemplating asking Lisa about her beauty regime when Rosé and Jin turn up at their table.

“You started the party without us?” Jin asks with a teasing grin.

Jungkook looks around in confusion, not quite understanding. “No? Jimin’s clearly not here yet.”

“Jimin just texted – he should be here soon,” Rosé explains, salvaging the situation before it can become unnecessarily awkward.

“Oh, okay. Maybe we should find a table then?” Jungkook suggests.

“That’s a good plan,” Jin agrees.

“Nice seeing you both,” Jungkook says to Bambam and Lisa as he excuses himself from the table.

“It was great to meet you,” Jisoo adds as she stands up and picks up her jacket from behind the chair, but her words are really only directed at Lisa – something that Jin and Rosé don’t fail to notice.

“Is someone getting a crush?” Jin teases as they walk away.

“On who, Bambam?” Jisoo asks, puzzled and ridiculously oblivious.

“Anyway,” Rosé says decisively, taking pity on Jisoo and deciding to change the subject before Jisoo actually (finally) has some kind of sexuality crisis. “Talking of crushes, are you dating anyone at the moment, Chi Chu?”

“I’m always dating,” Jisoo answers. “But it’s not like you’ve been interested.”

Rosé smiles guiltily – it’s true that she hasn’t shown any interest in Jisoo’s flourishing dating life recently. Ever since she started seeing J-Hope, she subconsciously decided that she wouldn’t pay any more attention to Jisoo’s romantic conquests until one of her conquests was female. “Sorry. I know I’ve been kind of flaky about that lately. But I want you to know that you can date whoever and I’ll support you.”

Jisoo frowns. “Is this your way of trying to get me to come out, or something? Because the people I’m dating have all been boys.”

Rosé chuckles despite herself. “Exactly, and I’m just telling you that I’m supporting you, even if you only ever date boys. So come on – spill.”

Jisoo rolls her eyes but doesn’t question Rosé anymore, instead launching into stories of unsuccessful dates with boring men but great food.

Meanwhile, after Jisoo and Jungkook have left the table, Lisa turns in her seat to face Bambam with a sense of urgency. “ _Shit,_ she’s cute. Do you think there’s any chance she’s single?” she asks hopefully.

Bambam shrugs. “I don’t know. But I can ask Jungkook about it when I next see him, if you want.”

“Please do,” Lisa agrees. She takes another sip of her hot chocolate and winces when she realises it’s gone cold. (Apparently the conversation with Jisoo distracted her from the things that are _really_ important, like hot chocolate.)

“You’re not going to ask if she’s gay too?” Bambam frowns.

Lisa shakes her head. “That part’s pretty obvious.”

Bambam shrugs. “I’ll ask about Jungkook about her on Tuesday.”

“Thanks,” Lisa grins.

 

***

 

Jimin and Yoongi meet at the restaurant on Thursday night, both dressed in jeans but smart shirts. It isn’t formal enough to be a date, but it isn’t casual enough to just be ‘hanging out’, either. And, after their conversation on the phone, Jimin really has no idea what this is meant to be.

They spend the evening talking about all the usual topics – how Jimin’s classes are going at beauty school (terribly) and how Yoongi’s classes are going at school (also terribly). They discuss how the other Pink Ladies and T-Birds are doing – which turns out to be terribly, as well. Yoongi tells Jimin about how V hasn’t been acting like himself since Monday, apparently, but the extent of it only sunk in when Yoongi saw him yesterday. “If you could see him now, Jimin, you’d hardly recognise him,” Yoongi tells him worriedly. But Jimin isn’t really sure what to do with this information, because he was never that close with V even when they still went to school together; and now that Jimin has left, he’s hardly seen any of the T-Birds at all – except for Yoongi, of course.

Yoongi is great, obviously, but Jimin kind of misses the others.

Over dessert, they talk about how Yoongi’s parents are still fighting a lot, but that they’ve stopped lashing out at Yoongi and his brother in favour of lashing out at each other – “Because apparently, now that we know, it’s okay to fight in front of us,” Yoongi says with a roll of his eyes. But Jimin insists that it will get better and, even if Jimin has no evidence to back up this claim, Yoongi believes him.

Even after the evening is over, Jimin still isn’t sure whether it was a date or not. They ate in a nice restaurant, sure, but they also chatted to each other the same way they’ve done for the past two years and the ‘romance’ aspect didn’t go any further than the type of flirting Yoongi usually initiates with him. It’s the teasing kind; the type where Jimin can never be sure if Yoongi really means it or if he just finds it funny seeing Jimin flustered. Usually Jimin is pretty good at reading Yoongi, but never with things like this.

At the end of the night, Yoongi doesn’t kiss him, which Jimin assumes is a pretty good indicator that, despite the date-like scenario, this wasn’t a date after all. But Yoongi does let their hands brush against each other as he walks Jimin home, never quite gathering up the courage to link their fingers together – and he lingers by the door long after Jimin’s gone inside; stood outside alone, wondering when he’ll finally work up the guts to take Jimin out on a date for real.

 

***

 

By Friday, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies have given up hope that V will confide in any of them. They’re (perhaps foolishly) hoping that over the weekend things will suddenly get miraculously better, in the same way that things suddenly went so wrong over last weekend. They’ve even agreed to meet up on Saturday to monitor his progress – V has been invited too and has agreed to go, but he obviously isn’t aware of the real reason for the meetup.

However, regardless of whether or not things are miraculously better by the weekend, they have all accepted that there’s nothing they can do to help – all except for Jungkook.

Jungkook knows that he’s different from the others; that even after everything that’s happened between them, V still trusts him more than anybody else. He held himself back from saying anything all week, but it feels so wrong to see V struggle and refuse to open up, so on Friday afternoon Jungkook takes the plunge and decides to reach out.

V is on his way past the Pink Ladies and T-Birds towards the school gate when Jungkook calls out to him. “Uh, V,” he says awkwardly, then coughs to clear his throat. Why does his voice tend to sound scratchy when he’s nervous?

V pauses and turns around, looking at Jungkook warily. (Their friends also look at them carefully, surprised both at the fact that Jungkook feels confident enough to initiate conversation and at the fact that V actually turns around to listen to him.)

Jungkook hates that this is the way V now looks at him; as if it’s strange that Jungkook should want to talk to him. Suddenly, out of nowhere and with no warning, he wishes with all of his being that things could go back to how they were before.

“I – I get that things have been difficult for you recently,” Jungkook says apprehensively, aware of the double meaning to his words. “But I just wanted you to know that if you need to talk to someone, I’m here,” he finishes lamely.

V blinks at him, his face remaining impassive, before he nods – a gesture so miniscule that Jungkook would have missed it had he not been paying the utmost attention – and then V walks out of the school gates, Jungkook left staring after him.

It’s sad that this is the most interaction they’ve had with each other since the breakup. Jungkook never wanted to lose their friendship.

He’s dragged out of his thoughts by the feeling of his friends all staring at him. “What?” he asks nervously, hoping that the sadness he feels isn’t too apparent on his face.

“We’ve all tried talking to him,” LE explains. “Why would you think that you’d be any different?”

In this moment Jungkook wants, more than ever, to tell his friends about everything the two of them have been through. All the way from Jungkook’s experiences with the friendly and chatty V to the open and honest Taehyung; and then the sudden, unexpected switch to the arrogant and frustrating V before the switch back to the adorable and beautiful Taehyung – and, after this, repeating the cycle a few times over.

Because _this_ – this _gets_ to make him different. He’s always been more than just another Pink Lady; more than just another one in the friendship group.

But Jungkook doesn’t say any of that. Instead, he simply shrugs and explains, “I just wanted him to know.” Because, at the end of the day, that’s really all there is to it. He wants Taehyung to be aware that, even if their romance is over, their friendship doesn’t have to be over as well.

Because maybe somewhere, deep down, Jungkook knows that whatever they have between them isn’t really over. Not yet.

 

***

 

That day after school, Jungkook has his third date with Yugyeom. He’s really excited about it; so much so that he’s unable to think about anything (or anyone) else. It may only be a night out at the café, but Jungkook hasn’t spoken to Yugyeom for a few days and he’s really looking forward to seeing him again.

Yugyeom kisses Jungkook hello when he arrives at the café and Jungkook smiles happily as he sits down.

“What drink did you want, by the way? The waitress came over already but I wasn’t sure what to order for you,” Yugyeom explains.

“Vanilla milkshake,” Jungkook answers without hesitating, although he is slightly surprised that Yugyeom hasn’t remembered by now. Jungkook always chooses the same thing – but, in fairness, they haven’t gone out together that often, so Jungkook lets it slide.

“I’ll remember that for next time,” Yugyeom says with a fond smile, which Jungkook thinks redeems him. Besides, the promise of ‘next time’ is a comforting thought. When he’s with Yugyeom, Jungkook always knows where he stands.

Jungkook listens as Yugyeom catches him up on his week, genuinely having a great time. He enjoys Yugyeom’s company and he felt that he didn’t really make the most of it on Tuesday, his thoughts too preoccupied with Taehyung. But tonight isn’t about Taehyung and nothing can change that.

Jungkook doesn’t even bat an eyelid when he realises that Jennie is their server for this evening – because Jungkook is happy now, and the only overriding emotion he feels when Jennie hands him his milkshake is that he hopes Taehyung is happy too. Maybe Taehyung won’t be able to make a real _future_ with Jennie, or any girl for that matter, but that doesn’t mean that she and Taehyung can’t get along well and have fun together, right?

He just hopes that Taehyung is happy.

“Talking of which, there’s a dance workshop that’s on next week,” Yugyeom is saying, and Jungkook blinks in surprise as he realises that he missed the segue into this conversation topic. _Talking of what?_ he wants to ask, but instead he smiles politely and gestures for Yugyeom to carry on.

“Youngjae was talking about going, and I’ll probably tag along too,” Yugyeom continues excitedly. “It could be a lot of fun. It’s only for people who take dance really seriously, so you’re probably not interested, but I think it will be great experience for me. I’ll have a chance to meet a lot more dancers from the area as well.”

“That’s great,” Jungkook smiles.

“Yeah,” Yugyeom agrees. “So, what’s going on with you?”

Jungkook blanches at his bluntness. “Nothing’s going on. I’m fine,” he says, a little defensively.

Yugyeom frowns. “No, I mean, like – what’s new? How have you been?”

“Oh,” Jungkook replies, visibly relaxing, and Yugyeom tries not to notice it. “Not much, really. School’s fine, but it’s still weird without Jimin. The other Pink Ladies are great.”

“And the T-Birds?” Yugyeom enquires politely.

Jungkook stiffens ever so slightly, but not enough for Yugyeom to see it. “Yeah, they’re great too,” Jungkook nods.

“Cool.” Yugyeom sips on his coffee and then looks at Jungkook apprehensively. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Fine,” Jungkook answers too quickly. “I mean – sorry. I’ve just had a stressful week,” he says apologetically. “Tell me more about the dance workshop?”

“Okay,” Yugyeom smiles, and then the conversation is flowing naturally again. They even get so caught up in their discussion about modern dance that they have to ask Jennie for a few more minutes to browse the menu, because they _completely_ forgot they were meant to be choosing what to eat. (For someone like Yugyeom, who always has food on his mind, this is quite a big deal.)

“What are you in the mood for?” Yugyeom asks contemplatively as he scans the menu.

“I don’t know; it’s pretty early for food,” Jungkook replies. Honestly, he isn’t even hungry. But he supposes that dating someone always comes with baggage, and perhaps Yugyeom’s baggage is that they always have to be around food.

Yugyeom hums distractedly. “I’m thinking I’d really like a burger, but then I’ve also been craving a jacket potato all day.”

Jungkook shrugs. “Just get both.”

Yugyeom grins. “Good thinking.”

Jungkook opens his mouth to respond, but then his phone starts to ring and the surprise makes Jungkook forget what he was about to say. “Sorry,” he mumbles as he fishes his phone out of his pocket. “I forgot to turn this off; let me just…” Jungkook frowns when he sees the caller ID. He looks back up at Yugyeom regretfully. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”

Yugyeom nods understandingly, so Jungkook sends him a tight smile before standing up and heading out of the café to take the call.

“Taehyung?” he says quietly as soon as he’s outside.

“Jungkook,” the voice replies on the other end of the line. He sounds relieved but panicked; happy but desperately unhappy, all at the same time. Jungkook doesn’t understand how that’s possible, but he’s also aware that it isn’t necessarily his place to try and understand Taehyung anymore.

Jungkook doesn’t know where to start, so he asks the only question he can think of that begins to cover it. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Soonshimmie,” Taehyung whimpers, his voice quiet and withdrawn. “She – she hasn’t been eating properly and she’s lost a lot of energy and I…” _I didn’t even notice._ There was so much else going on in Taehyung’s mind – he was trying so desperately to be okay _himself_ that he missed all the signs that Soonshim wasn’t okay, either. “My parents told me that they booked a vet appointment for her, just to check that she’s okay, but I – I’m so scared,” he admits, sounding more vulnerable than Jungkook has ever heard him before. “And – and I know that we haven’t even been talking, I just – my parents got held up at work and now they won’t be here to come with me to the vets and I – I don’t think I can do this alone,” he mumbles.

Jungkook frowns, trying to take it all in. “When did you find out?”

“Sunday night,” Taehyung responds, his voice small.

“You should’ve _told_ me,” Jungkook accuses, perhaps more angry than he has a right to be. “You know how much I care about Soonshim. This is my business too; I can’t believe you would just –”

“Jungkook, _please_ ,” Taehyung interrupts. “I know I should’ve told you. There are a billion things I _should’ve_ done, but I’m an idiot who makes stupid decisions and if I could go back I would do so much differently.” It’s obvious which things he’s talking about. “I – I just don’t think I can –” Taehyung cuts himself off, before taking a shaky breath and trying again. “You told me I could talk to you, so, well, here I am. Trying. I really _am_ trying, but I can’t – I don’t know how to do this on my own,” he reiterates, his voice cracking.

Jungkook sighs resignedly. “Okay, fine. I’m coming. But know that I’m doing this for Soonshim, not for you.”

“Thank you,” Taehyung whispers, his voice full of relief.

When Jungkook heads back into the café, he looks at Yugyeom sadly. “I’m really sorry – I have to leave. It’s kind of an emergency,” he says, already grabbing his jacket from the chair and swinging it round his shoulders. The explanation is deliberately vague, but Yugyeom doesn’t push it.

“That’s okay,” Yugyeom says immediately, seeming to recognise Jungkook’s urgency to leave. “I’ll catch up with you later?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook responds noncommittally before heading out of the café. But as he passes by Jennie on his way out, he can’t stop the anger that burns through him. She’s stood there, chatting away and laughing with her co-workers as if everything’s fine.

Everything’s _not_ fine.

“How dare you?” he accuses sharply as he storms up to her, the strength of his emotions momentarily causing him to forget his shyness.

Jennie stares at him for a second. “Do I know you?” she asks, confused.

“How could you leave V to fend for himself at a time like this?” Jungkook continues, feeling frustrated and inexplicably betrayed. “I trusted you to take care of him – you’re his _girlfriend_ , you’re supposed to _care_ ; you’re supposed to _be_ there; you…” Jungkook’s voice peters out as he finally runs out of words.

Jennie levels him with a bored look. “You do know that we were never actually going out, right?” she says casually, once she’s sure his speech is over. “We just hooked up a couple times.”

“Wait – you – really?” Jungkook asks smoothly.

“Yeah, he was kind of distant,” she says with a shrug. “Never wanted to let me get too close.” (She doesn’t consider the fact that she was exactly the same.) “Oh, and he also kept whispering some guy’s name while we were making out. I mean. That’s why I broke things off. It was really weird, actually.” She shivers at the thought. “Glad that’s over.”

Jungkook freezes. He probably shouldn’t ask.

But he has to know.

“What was the name?” he asks, his voice quiet but undeniably hopeful.

“Jungkook,” she says nonchalantly, as if this doesn’t change everything.

 

***

 

 _He kept whispering your name,_ Jungkook repeats to himself as he hurries to the bus stop. _That has to count for something._

Jungkook’s breathing is ragged and shallow by the time he sits down on the bus, but it’s worth it when he realises that he arrived just in time for the bus to leave. He doesn’t know what he’d have done – what _Taehyung_ would have done – if he’d missed it.

Jungkook is filled with a sense of relief as he quickly gets out his phone.

**I’m on my way now, bus just left**

He hurriedly sends the text and tries not to overthink the situation – he’s only doing this for Soonshim.

Jungkook may have fallen hard for Taehyung over summer, but during that time he also found a best friend in Soonshim. Since he and Taehyung have been having difficulties, Jungkook hasn’t been able to see her, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. She’s the only reason he’s here.

But the more Jungkook tells himself that, the less he believes it.

The feeling only intensifies when Taehyung’s reply comes through:

**thank you. I’ll meet you at the bus stop**

Even picturing Taehyung waiting for Jungkook to arrive makes his heart beat a little quicker in his chest; as if his body still harbours feelings for Taehyung against Jungkook’s permission.

 _It’s over,_ Jungkook reminds himself sternly. _It was over a long time ago._ But then Jungkook remembers Jennie in the café, talking casually about how Taehyung would whisper his name, and somehow that makes all the difference, because maybe Taehyung has been just as conflicted as he has over the past month.

And maybe, just maybe, these few weeks apart were all the time Taehyung needed to be ready for something real. To be ready for Jungkook.

Jungkook refuses to get his hopes up. He’s already with somebody else anyway – _you have Yugyeom now,_ he reminds himself determinedly, because when he’s with Taehyung it’s too easy to forget.

He has Yugyeom, and Taehyung has Jennie.

But Taehyung _doesn’t_ have Jennie, and Jungkook wonders when he managed to get it all so wrong. Were they really never dating? It doesn’t change the fact that Taehyung cheated on him, but Jungkook now feels more confused than betrayed. How much did he misunderstand, just because Taehyung wouldn’t talk to him about anything?

The hour passes by too slowly and by the time the bus pulls into the bus stop, Yugyeom is the last thing on Jungkook’s mind.

Jungkook sees Taehyung through the window, Soonshim cradled in his arms, and suddenly all the feelings that Jungkook thought were gone resurface in a split second, overwhelming Jungkook’s senses and leaving him wondering how he ever thought he could be over Taehyung.

“Soonshimmie,” Jungkook says fondly as he approaches them, greeting her by scratching her behind the ears. She doesn’t respond, neither verbally nor physically, and Jungkook can already understand why Taehyung has been so upset this week. Soonshim is usually just as talkative and excitable as Taehyung is himself – seeing the change of character in both of them at once is more than disturbing.

“She missed you,” Taehyung comments softly. Jungkook isn’t sure if he’s overthinking, but he feels like there’s more to those words than Taehyung is admitting.

“I missed her too,” Jungkook says carefully. He gulps, staring determinedly at Soonshim instead of Taehyung. “I didn’t realise she was meeting me at the bus stop, too. Isn’t it a bit cold for that?”

Taehyung clutches Soonshim closer to his chest protectively. “I thought it would be nice for her to get some exercise and walk down with me,” he explains. “But she wasn’t up to it. I had to carry her most of the way.”

Jungkook’s eyes shoot back up to Taehyung’s, feeling that the worried look on Taehyung’s face is mirrored on his own. “She had enough energy to walk around with us on the beach all day every day, last summer,” Jungkook states unnecessarily.

“I know,” Taehyung says tightly.

Jungkook gulps again, the awkward silence between them foreign and uncomfortable. So much has changed.

“Where are we going?” Jungkook asks.

“Straight to the vets. Her appointment is – well, now,” Taehyung explains awkwardly. “But they agreed to wait a little bit for us to get here. I blamed it on the fact that Soonshim’s refusing to walk anywhere.”

Jungkook nods, wondering whether he’s supposed to feel nervous. It feels odd talking to Taehyung again, without any of the pretences that they have among their friends. Jungkook feels nervous for Soonshim, too – but (perhaps wrongly, given the circumstances) he feels like everything is finally right in the world again.

Here is Jungkook, right next to Taehyung, and everything is finally how it should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy before anyone asks, dw their feelings will be tackled more in the next chapter, I'm not just gonna leave them like this haha cause it's still pretty dysfunctional atm. the next couple of chapters are in the works and, basically up to the end of chapter 20 all takes place over this weekend (they have a lot to talk about so yeah)
> 
> bear with me though bc this isn't going to be one of those fics with a sudden realisation that everything is fine and like a quick resolve, because I wanted to make it realistic (not including the storyline, I've kinda been the taehyung character before in real life so yeah. sometimes it's more complicated than a quick fix ughh but things are on the up now!)
> 
> again sorry it's been a while, the next update should be out a lot quicker!
> 
> p.s. pls feel free to chat to me in the comments about the characters so I don't get lonely


	19. I'm out of my head (hopelessly devoted to you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook should have known better than to think that his feelings were gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first things first, thank you so much for 300+ kudos!!! eeeeek I'm actually so excited for you guys to read this chapter lol
> 
> all of this takes place over Friday night and it was actually one of the first scenes I wrote for this fic so, although I've reread and edited it quite a lot, it still holds a special place in my heart so yeah I hope you like it! :)))
> 
> Sidenote: GUYS I JUST FOUND THE STATISTICS PANEL YESTERDAY (I never realised how people knew their stats lol) AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE ARE 120 PEOPLE SUBSCRIBED TO THIS FIC!! Seriously it made my night I'm actually shook and ily very much <3 (not that I'm obsessed with stats or anything like that cause obviously one person reading and enjoying the fic is plentyyyy but like, it surprised me that there were so many people interested in how this story is gonna turn out !! and it made me v happy)
> 
> ok on with the fic!! enjoyyy

Taehyung and Jungkook don’t have the opportunity to prepare themselves for the worst, because they’re called in to see the vet as soon as they walk inside the surgery.

Taehyung looks at Jungkook as they walk inside, seeking reassurance. Jungkook smiles at him gently and hopes that it’s enough.

Taehyung doesn’t look like he feels any better as he puts Soonshim down on the table and explains to the vet all the problems she’s been having, but Jungkook supposes that this must be easier, not having to do it alone. Even if Jungkook will be no help in describing her symptoms, he can be a pillar of support for Taehyung. He looks like he needs it.

The vet does some tests, checks Soonshim’s heartbeat, does more things that Jungkook can’t keep track of, and all too soon he’s explaining to Taehyung that she’s caught an infection that could potentially be recurring if she doesn’t take her medication properly. The vet hands Taehyung various bottles of pills and explains how often to give her each of them; how to make sure she swallows them all; which can be taken with food and which should be taken separately during the day… Jungkook listens attentively, wanting to feel like he’s being helpful, but he can’t help but notice the way Taehyung bites his lip so hard it bleeds, or the way he repeatedly clenches his hand into a fist and then, as if catching himself, stretches his fingers out again, only to repeat the gesture a few seconds later.

At one point, when Taehyung’s fingers are stretched open, Jungkook reaches his hand out to hold onto Taehyung’s, to relax him – but then he catches himself and quickly pulls away before Taehyung can notice his slip-up. It’s too easy to fall back into old habits.

Soon enough they are walking out of the surgery, but despite the good news that the infection isn’t terminal or even permanent, Taehyung doesn’t seem to be faring any better. Realising that Taehyung has no energy left, Jungkook takes it upon himself to carry Soonshim back home.

 

***

 

“Oh, hello Jungkook,” Taehyung’s father says in surprise as Jungkook enters the house behind Taehyung, Soonshim cradled in his arms.

“Hi. It’s good to see you again,” Jungkook smiles politely.

“What did the vet say?” Taehyung’s mother asks as she appears in the doorway. “Oh, hello, Jungkook,” she then says when she notices Jungkook standing there holding their dog.

“Hello,” Jungkook replies, starting to feel a little awkward. He looks to Taehyung for guidance, but Taehyung is standing stock-still, so Jungkook turns back to Taehyung’s parents decisively. “Uh – the vet gave us some medication for Soonshimmie and said that she should take _these_ pills twice a day in her food…” he says, going to gesture to one of the bottles of pills Taehyung is holding, but only then does he remember that his arms are otherwise occupied.

He puts Soonshim down as he smiles at Taehyung’s parents sheepishly, hoping they didn’t notice what just happened. Once Soonshim is safely on the floor, Jungkook feels Taehyung’s hand close around his wrist and drag him upstairs. “Um – there are other types of pills too; she needs to take them all for two weeks and then report back to the surgery explaining how –” Jungkook cuts himself off when he realises that they’re out of earshot from his parents. “What’s with you?” Jungkook huffs as he lets himself be pulled up the stairs.

“Why would you waste your time explaining it to them?” Taehyung snaps. “They didn’t care enough to come and find out for themselves.”

Jungkook frowns. “You said they had to work…”

“They did,” Taehyung replies curtly. “It’s clear where their priorities lie.”

“Taehyung,” Jungkook sighs. “That doesn’t mean they don’t care.”

Taehyung doesn’t respond, but it isn’t until they reach Taehyung’s room that Jungkook understands why. Taehyung slams the door shut behind them, climbs onto the bed and curls his body into a little ball – and then everything is silent, all except for the sniffling. It takes Jungkook a second too long to realise that Taehyung is crying.

Suddenly, something within Jungkook breaks. He’s never seen Taehyung cry before – and despite everything he’s tried to tell himself over the past few weeks, Jungkook can’t resist the instinctive reaction to comfort him.

Jungkook knows he isn’t always the best with words, so instead he does the only thing he can think of: he goes over to the bed and lies down behind Taehyung, shuffling close to him and wrapping his arm around Taehyung’s torso. Taehyung doesn’t say anything in response, but he does put his hand over Jungkook’s, clutching it tightly as a silent thank you.

They stay there in comfortable silence, up until the moment when Jungkook’s phone rings and disturbs the peace.

Jungkook pulls his phone out of his pocket, irritated with himself that even after the phone call he received from Taehyung this evening, he still forgot to put his phone on silent.

But then he sees the name ‘Yugyeom’ flash across his screen.

All of a sudden Jungkook feels overwhelmingly guilty. He puts his phone down on the pillow so that he doesn’t have to look at it – the reminder – any longer.

It’s a reminder of where he _should_ be and who he should be with – a reminder of real life that is completely unwelcome.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Taehyung mumbles after a second.

Jungkook shakes his head, even though Taehyung can’t see him. “It can wait.”

But the phone keeps on ringing, and both of them now feel awkward lying in this position, knowing that the moment has gone. They aren’t even together anymore – and Taehyung hates the fact that Jungkook is so close and yet so far away all at once. The silence is stifling, so he opens his mouth and speaks up again. “Are you sure you don’t want to answer it?”

Jungkook sighs resignedly and picks up the phone, pressing the button to accept the call, with the simple goal of putting an end to the incessant ringing – and without putting any thought into what he’ll actually say to Yugyeom. But then Jungkook’s voicemail introduction starts playing out loud and he realises that he must have just missed the call. Even worse, he realises that he’s pressed the green button just in time to make Yugyeom’s message play _out loud_ on his phone; and he doesn’t know how to turn it off without hanging up on Yugyeom entirely.

Before Jungkook can decide whether he would rather have Yugyeom feel confused and annoyed at him for hanging up, or have Taehyung listen to a voicemail message from the person Jungkook is currently dating, Yugyeom starts to speak and Jungkook realises that he’s lost the opportunity to choose what happens next.

“Hey, Jungkook, it’s me,” the message begins. Yugyeom sounds happy and carefree, with the right amount of concern, but also a little fake; as if the cheerfulness is an act. If Jungkook knew him better, he would realise that Yugyeom is worried; not only about why Jungkook had to leave so suddenly, but also about whether there’s ever really going to be a ‘next time’ for them.

“You left in a bit of a rush so I just wanted to make sure everything’s alright,” Yugyeom continues. “Anyway, the rest of your milkshake was really good.” There’s a pause as Yugyeom laughs, and Jungkook waits with bated breath. Taehyung is frozen in place next to him.

“So I was thinking, seeing as our date at the café got cut short, maybe you’d like to reschedule for this weekend or something? Give me a call back when you can, and also let me know that things are okay because you kind of worried me back there.”

Jungkook winces, thinking back to how he left the café in a bit of a state and with no real explanation.

“Anyway, see you soon.” The line clicks and there’s an awkward pause as Jungkook stares at the phone, then at Taehyung, and wonders why his life is full of such awkward encounters.

Jungkook isn’t sure whether Taehyung knows Yugyeom well enough to be able to recognise his voice, but he thinks that after Yugyeom mentioned their date, Taehyung must have figured out who was calling.

After a moment, Taehyung speaks. “You were on a date?” he asks quietly.

Jungkook exhales sharply. “Yeah.”

Taehyung doesn’t respond and Jungkook curses at himself internally, wondering why he can’t find a way to dispel the awkwardness or to at least say _something_ – something that won’t make everything exponentially worse.

He’s filled with a strange urge to explain himself; to explain to Taehyung that he never would have started dating someone new if Taehyung hadn’t just pushed him aside like that. That it’s not _his_ fault they aren’t together anymore – but he doesn’t want to upset Taehyung even more, especially when he’s had such a difficult week already. Taehyung has enough on his plate without Jungkook coming back into the mix.

But – Taehyung was the one to ring _him_.

That has to matter, right?

There’s a whine at the door and Jungkook jumps at the chance to stand up and dispel the awkward tension in the air. When he opens the door, he finds Soonshim staring at him with wide eyes and it takes Jungkook a second to realise why Soonshim is at eye level with him. He makes awkward eye contact with Mrs Kim when he looks up.

“I thought Taehyung might like some company,” Mrs Kim explains quietly. “Anyway, Jungkook, I’m going to start cooking now so would you like to stay for tea? You’re very welcome, of course.”

Before Jungkook has a chance to reply, Taehyung calls over from his spot on the bed, “Oh no, that won’t be necessary, mum; Jungkook already ate on his date earlier.” His body is still turned away from the door so his expression isn’t visible, but Jungkook can hear the venom in his voice.

Jungkook visibly winces, which Taehyung’s mother is quick to notice. “Actually, I left before we ordered any food,” Jungkook responds quietly towards the mattress, but Taehyung doesn’t give any indication that he’s heard.

Mrs Kim looks between the two of them unsurely. “Well, I’ll leave it up to you to decide then,” she says hesitantly, hovering at the doorway before pushing Soonshim into Jungkook’s arms and making a hasty exit.

Jungkook closes the door before taking Soonshim over to Taehyung. He purses his lips, wondering whether he should say anything, but instead he decides to simply place Soonshim on the mattress in front of Taehyung’s chest. Soonshim woofs delicately before curling up to Taehyung, who starts stroking her fur and tries once again to hold back his tears.

Jungkook hovers next to the bed uncertainly. “You know she’s going to be okay,” he assures Taehyung, but he obviously doesn’t do a good job because then Taehyung starts crying again. It sounds like he’s properly sobbing and Jungkook feels terrible for being the cause of it. “Don’t cry,” he whispers desperately, placing a hand on Taehyung’s shoulder and shaking him when he doesn’t respond.

He then realises (albeit a little too late) that shaking someone who’s in floods of tears probably isn’t the most sympathetic thing he could do, so instead he cautiously lies down on the mattress and pats Taehyung’s back with his left hand. (He knows it’s probably the opposite of comforting, but it’s all his confused brain can come up with for now. He’s still a bit shaken by the Yugyeom voicemail incident, to be honest.)

“How can you say that?” Taehyung whimpers through the tears. “How can you say that it’ll be okay? You don’t know.”

“The vet said she’ll be fine,” Jungkook insists, perplexed at the cause for Taehyung’s concern.

“Well what does the vet know?” he complains.

“I mean… quite a lot, I should expect. They undergo years of training and…” Jungkook trails off when he realises Taehyung’s sobs are too loud for his voice to be heard over them.

“What if she’s not okay? What if I lose her?” He’s crying uncontrollably now – Soonshim seems perturbed by the disturbance and decides to hop down from the bed, which makes him cry even more. Taehyung turns over to face Jungkook. “What if I lose her?” he repeats desperately.

“You won’t,” Jungkook says with just as much desperation, unsure of how to fix this. He just wants Taehyung to stop crying, to be happy again, to be like that carefree boy at the beach who didn’t have anything to worry about except making sure he finished eating his bubblegum ice lolly before it melted.

“I can’t. She’s the only thing I really care about. Except…” Taehyung breaks off, burying his face into Jungkook’s shirt to hide the tears. Jungkook wraps his arms around Taehyung’s body instinctively, pulling him closer.

“Shh, shh,” he whispers softly. He moves one of his hands to stroke Taehyung’s hair, running his fingers through it in a way that he knows Taehyung finds soothing.

“And you’re –” Taehyung hiccups. “You’re dating someone, and…” he trails off, sobbing more. “I’ve already lost you – I can’t – I can’t lose her too…”

Jungkook gulps, feeling his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach. He puts his hands on Taehyung’s cheeks, forcing him to look back up at Jungkook. “Hey, I’m right here,” Jungkook says, almost as if he’s trying to convince himself, brushing his thumbs against Taehyung’s cheeks to clear the tears, although more keep falling. “I’m right here,” he repeats softly. Taehyung scrunches his eyes closed and Jungkook holds his face tighter. “Look at me, Taehyung, I’m right here. I’ve got you, okay?” Taehyung opens his eyes and looks right at Jungkook.

Then Taehyung is surging forward and lips press against lips and Jungkook presses back with just as much desperation. It’s open-mouthed and it’s messy and a little gross from all the tears that are still falling from Taehyung’s eyes, but it’s exactly what they’ve both been missing, exactly what they both need. Jungkook breaks away first, not feeling entirely comfortable with a kiss in which one of the participants is sobbing uncontrollably, but Taehyung’s hands are still fisted into Jungkook’s t-shirt and Jungkook finds himself not wanting Taehyung to move them. Not yet, not after he’s waited so long to be this close to Taehyung again.

“What was that?” Jungkook whispers softly, brushing away Taehyung’s remaining tears with his thumb.

“I just…” He gulps. “I don’t want to lose you,” Taehyung whispers back.

Something jars within Jungkook as he recalls the way that Taehyung so carelessly pushed him aside, right when he thought they were going somewhere.

“Well you should’ve thought about that before you went off snogging random waitresses,” Jungkook says harshly, pushing Taehyung’s hands away and getting up from the bed.

“Jungkook, don’t,” he begs, wiping at his eyes again.

“Don’t what? I’m not the one who ruined what we had. _Again_ ,” he accuses. He turns his back to Taehyung, walking to the other side of the room to hide the hurt that he knows is evident on his face alongside the anger.

“Please, Kookie,” Taehyung says but Jungkook just glares at him.

“Don’t call me that,” he snaps.

“What can I do to make this better?” Taehyung asks desperately, standing up from the bed to face Jungkook, who’s now pacing back and forth on the other side of the room.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook replies angrily, throwing his hands into the air in frustration. “You keep going back and forth like a yoyo, I don’t know where I stand and oh my God, it’s exhausting,” he cries. “And then when I’m finally making my peace with the fact that something went wrong and what we had is gone, it’s over, you go and do something like this. You let me in again and you kiss me and it’s fucking amazing and we’re back to where we started! What are you expecting me to do?”

Taehyung falters. “I – I don’t know…” There’s a pause. “Jungkook, you know yoyos go up and down, not back and forth, right?” After a moment’s pause, Taehyung continues, “Are you perhaps thinking of a pendulum?”

Unfortunately (or very fortunately, depending on the way you look at it) Jungkook doesn’t acknowledge that Taehyung’s said anything.

“You can’t just get mad at me for dating someone else,” he says sadly, his mood deflating by the second. “I waited, and I kept trying to talk to you – but you gave me nothing. You shut me out, without any warning. At least you knew why we were drifting apart… how do you think I felt?”

Taehyung breathes in and then exhales shakily. He doesn’t have an answer and he doesn’t have an explanation. “I never meant to hurt you,” he eventually settles on, reaching for Jungkook’s hand, but that’s evidently the wrong thing to say because Jungkook throws him off.

“What were you expecting to happen then?” Jungkook asks incredulously.

“God, I don’t know,” Taehyung mutters, sitting back on the bed in defeat. “I was just – terrified, okay? I saw Bambam being picked on by some idiots who had a problem with his gayness and I kind of freaked out. I know it’s not an excuse, but just. What if they treat me like that too? I’m not – I’m not ready for something like that. And then – my aunt started pressurising me about how I needed to find a girlfriend and get married someday to a woman and have _kids_ with her and – I couldn’t deal with it. I didn’t know what to do; how to tell her that that could never _happen_. And if she found out, I don’t know how she would…” He gulps. “So I needed to distance myself from you; from everything that could be a threat to –” He trails off and looks up at Jungkook, ashamed. “I sound like a right prick, don’t I?”

“Yeah, you do,” Jungkook admits with a sad smile. “But I can get where you were coming from.” He looks down at the floor, lost in thought. “Bambam never told me he was being picked on.”

“He probably felt embarrassed,” Taehyung sighs. “I wanted so badly to tell you when it happened, but it wasn’t my information to give away and I didn’t want it to make you upset, either.”

Jungkook looks at him sadly. “You didn’t want it to make me upset?” he repeats slowly as the pieces slot together in his head. He can understand Taehyung’s train of thought: if Jungkook knew his friends were being picked on for being gay, Jungkook could get worried that the same thing would happen to him. Of course Taehyung wouldn’t want to make him worried unnecessarily, or trigger the same emotions Jungkook had to deal with last year when all the bullying happened at his old school.

Taehyung laughs humourlessly. “It sounds stupid, right? I didn’t want to hurt you, so instead of telling you the truth I pushed you away and ended up hurting you even more.”

Jungkook gulps, choosing to move on from the topic before anyone can get upset again. “You never told me about your aunt, either,” he says gently.

Taehyung smiles sadly. “By that point I already felt like I’d failed you. I felt you deserved better, so I left,” he says, his voice soft. He sounds tired of himself. “You know that I don’t tend to go halfway with things – it’s either all or nothing.”

Jungkook smiles tightly, choosing not to voice his thoughts; that even after how much they’d been through together and how strong their feelings were, it didn’t take much for Taehyung to change his mind about their relationship and choose ‘nothing’.

Taehyung sighs, gathering all his emotional strength for the question he’s about to ask, because he has a feeling he’s not going to like the answer. “Do you think we’ll be able to move past this?”

There’s a pause and Taehyung waits with baited breath.

“I’m not sure,” Jungkook eventually says.

Taehyung freezes. That’s worse than a no – it has no definitive answer.

Taehyung stares at Jungkook in inner turmoil, hoping that he’ll maybe change his response, and Jungkook shifts his weight between his two feet, feeling awkward at being stared at so transparently, especially given the conversation they’re having.

“I think… I think I should go,” Jungkook says quietly, moving to leave the room.

“Wait, Jungkook,” Taehyung says softly.

Jungkook turns around. “What now?”

“Well just…” Taehyung grimaces. “You haven’t actually checked the time, or the bus timetable, so don’t you want to make sure that you won’t be sat outside waiting for an hour?”

Jungkook purses his lips in thought before getting out his phone to check the timetable. (He ignores the texts from his mum asking about his whereabouts – he probably should have told her that he was going to Taehyung’s. Oops.) It’s currently 8:21pm and – “Shit,” he exclaims when he looks at the times.

“What is it?” Taehyung asks worriedly.

“I’ve just missed the last bus; it left five minutes ago and the next one isn’t for another hour and a half,” he complains. “This is your fault Taehyung; you live in the middle of nowhere!”

“Sorry,” Taehyung replies sombrely.

After an awkward pause in conversation, with Jungkook muttering “What am I going to do?” to himself over and over like a mantra and Taehyung watching like a scared spectator, Taehyung suggests, “Why don’t you just stay?”

“I can just get a taxi,” Jungkook huffs.

“What, are you made of money?” Taehyung scoffs.

“Kids, dinner’s ready!” they hear a voice calling from downstairs.

“Okay mum!” Taehyung calls back before looking over at Jungkook. “If you really didn’t eat earlier, you must be hungry, right?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen slightly. So Taehyung did hear him. “I suppose,” he admits reluctantly, because to be honest, satisfying his hunger is a little more important than holding onto his pride at this current moment in time. “Uh, Tae?” he adds awkwardly as Taehyung heads towards the door. “You might want to wash your face or something before you go downstairs,” he suggests gently.

“Oh God, is it bad?” Taehyung frets before rushing over to the bathroom to check his face in the mirror. His eyes are red and bloodshot, his cheeks are tear-stained and his hair is a tousled mess. (To be fair that last one is probably Jungkook’s fault.)

After Taehyung has splashed his face with water and Jungkook has sent his mother an apologetic text to explain that he’s gone round Taehyung’s house, they head downstairs to eat.

Later, after they’ve all eaten and Jungkook has thanked Mrs Kim about five times for the lovely meal (Taehyung pokes him under the table and tells him to stop), Jungkook excuses himself and says he’d better be getting to the bus stop.

“Are you sure, Jungkook?” Mrs Kim says worriedly. “It’s nearing 10pm and the trip is an hour long – I’m not sure how I’d feel letting you go on that journey on your own, especially this late at night on a Friday,” she frowns.

“It’s the only way to get home,” Jungkook shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s fine, really, Mrs Kim,” he smiles.

“Why don’t you stay round here for the evening? We can drop you back in the morning if needs be; Taehyung was going to meet up with some of his friends tomorrow anyway,” Mrs Kim smiles politely.

“Oh, well, that’s very kind of you, but I don’t have anything with me…”

“I have a spare toothbrush upstairs!” Taehyung supplies helpfully.

“We have spare towels too, and a spare bedroom you could spend the night in,” Mrs Kim suggests gently. “Although…” She looks between the two of them unsurely. “You could of course stay in Taehyung’s room if that would be preferable.”

“I can set up the air bed if you’d like,” Mr Kim suggests.

“That won’t be necessary,” Taehyung responds a little too quickly. Jungkook stares at him in alarm; a look that seems to say ‘what the hell are you doing?’ and Taehyung bites his lip, looking back at his father. “I just mean, you don’t need to go to all that trouble, dad. The bed’s big enough for two people and I’ve shared it with friends before,” he clarifies calmly. Jungkook tries not to overthink what that last sentence means.

“I don’t have any pyjamas,” Jungkook protests weakly, but Mrs Kim just laughs.

“I’m sure Taehyung has something he could lend you. If clothes are the only problem, I really feel like you should stay the night. It’s honestly no inconvenience.”

Jungkook thinks about it for a second: it would be easier (and probably safer) to get a lift back home tomorrow with Taehyung rather than get the bus with the dodgy late-night bus-riders. Besides, the thought of sleeping in Taehyung’s clothes makes him feel more things than he’d like to admit, so he nods to Mrs Kim. “That would be really lovely, thank you.” Now he just has to explain it to his mum.

As if reading his mind, Mrs Kim then says, “Let me just go and ring your mother and explain the change in plans.” She walks through to the living room to find the house phone as Jungkook raises his eyebrows in pleasant surprise.

Taehyung rests his hand on Jungkook’s leg under the table, getting his attention. “Are you really going to stay?” he asks in a small voice.

“It doesn’t seem I have much choice, do I?” Jungkook chuckles. But he moves his hand over Taehyung’s and gives it a light squeeze.

Mr Kim watches the exchange with curious eyes.

“It’s my fault, really,” they hear Mrs Kim say from the other room. “I asked him to stay for tea but I didn’t realise how late it was. He insisted he could get the bus but I didn’t really feel comfortable with – no, exactly. I’m glad you feel the same way. I just figured if it was my child… Of course. No, that’s fine! I’m dropping Taehyung into town tomorrow anyway so I’ll give Jungkook a lift then. Thank you, no problem! Bye.”

Mrs Kim walks back into the room to find the two children staring at her. “Well you’d better go get ready for bed, right? I know it’s a sleepover but you’re not staying up until midnight,” she jokes. (Nobody laughs. But that tends to be the way when mums crack jokes.)

After she’s shooed the two kids upstairs, she turns to her husband. “Do you think that Jungkook is his boyfriend?” she asks curiously.

“It certainly seems like it,” Mr Kim nods his head in agreement. “I hope he’s finally found someone he’ll be happy with,” he adds quietly.

“I know,” she agrees sadly. “It’s been a long time coming, but I suppose figuring out who you are is always difficult.”

 

***

 

Jungkook watches as Taehyung roots around in the wardrobe for a t-shirt. He quickly finds one and turns around to see Jungkook staring. “Chill, Jungkook; it’s just a torso,” he smirks as he chucks the t-shirt over, his bare chest visible to the world. “We went swimming in the sea a couple times over summer, remember? What’s so different now?”

“Well before we weren’t on our own in a bedroom,” Jungkook grumbles to himself as he discreetly smells the grey shirt he’s been thrown. Luckily Taehyung doesn’t seem to hear the statement.

“What are you doing?” Taehyung asks in confusion as he notices Jungkook sniffing the t-shirt. (Okay, maybe he isn’t so discreet.)

Jungkook freezes. “Just checking it’s clean,” he shrugs coolly, because ‘it smells like you’ doesn’t seem like an appropriate response.

“Don’t you trust me?” Taehyung laughs, but he’s already turned away again to continue searching the wardrobe for some clothes for himself. His back muscles strain as he continues to search in vain and Jungkook wonders whether it was really necessary for him to shed his current t-shirt so far in advance before finding another one to wear.

“Got it!” Taehyung shouts suddenly, holding up a plain black t-shirt triumphantly. “You wouldn’t think it’d be so hard to find.”

“Were you looking for a certain one?” Jungkook asks casually, trying to pretend that he wasn’t just staring at Taehyung – and Taehyung pretends he didn’t notice.

“Kind of, I mean this one’s really comfy,” he smiles. He then pauses as he notices Jungkook’s hesitation to get changed. “Jungkook, what are you waiting for? It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” he says with a(n unnecessary) wink.

“Right, yeah, swimming,” Jungkook mumbles awkwardly as he takes off his white t-shirt.

Taehyung gapes involuntarily as he sees the smooth, sculpted skin Jungkook’s shirt has been hiding. “Holy shit, you’re ripped,” just slips out of Taehyung’s mouth before he can help it.

“What happened to ‘it’s nothing you haven’t seen before’?” Jungkook asks, affronted. He clutches the grey shirt to his chest in protest.

“Well I was wrong,” Taehyung corrects himself. He strolls over shamelessly to get a closer look as Jungkook blushes furiously. “This _is_ something I haven’t seen before – have you put on some muscle since last summer?” Taehyung reaches out to feel his bicep (out of pure curiosity, he swears) but Jungkook pushes him away.

“It’s all the exercise from PE, I suppose,” he shrugs nonchalantly. “Anyway, you obviously reap the benefits of taking PE too, you know, being all toned up like that.” Taehyung blushes and Jungkook bursts out laughing. “Oh _sure_ , you take flattery and compliments every day like you expect them, but _that_ gets you.”

“I was blushing on your behalf, from second-hand embarrassment at your turn of phrase,” Taehyung responds dignifiedly.

“Of course you were,” Jungkook chuckles.

“Nobody says ‘all toned up’!” Taehyung protests.

Jungkook takes Taehyung’s distraction as an opportunity to put on his shirt and Taehyung pouts slightly before following suit.

They go to the bathroom to brush their teeth (the toothpaste Taehyung flicks at Jungkook is most certainly not appreciated) and Taehyung finds some clothes for Jungkook to wear tomorrow, but soon they’re both ready for bed and neither of them really know how to break the awkward silence that has settled.

“You didn’t really want to stay, did you?” Taehyung eventually sighs. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have asked you to –”

“No, it’s not that,” Jungkook interrupts gently. “I do want to stay. It’s just…” He groans quietly in frustration, struggling to get his words out. “You’re so –” He winces. “But then…”

As he always does when Jungkook gets like this, Taehyung waits patiently for him to gather his thoughts.

“I love spending time with you, and this is great, but I just know that after the weekend things will be weird again and… I don’t know if I can be with you like this if you’re going to switch back to ignoring me again after tonight. It’s too much,” Jungkook explains sadly.

“I don’t know what to say,” Taehyung replies, because he really doesn’t. He knows that things would be different this time – if they tried this again, he wouldn’t push Jungkook away like before; that much he’s sure of. But Taehyung doesn’t know how to prove that to Jungkook when his track record suggests otherwise.

“Say you’ll stay with me,” Jungkook says impulsively, reaching his hands out towards Taehyung’s. He threads their fingers together and steps closer so they’re only a few inches apart. “Say you’ll stay even if other people get weird about it.” His voice sounds pleading but his eyes look defeated, as if he already knows that the answer is no.

Taehyung looks down at the floor. “I can’t.” He looks up again, taking in Jungkook’s disappointed expression. “I’m sorry Kookie, I just can’t. You know I’m not ready for that yet.”

Jungkook sighs. “I know. I’m sorry too.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Taehyung asks worriedly. He’s definitely not ready to forfeit what they have but he knows that he can’t give Jungkook what he wants; a relationship, out in the open, where he doesn’t have to hide.

It’s what he wants too, of course, but he isn’t ready for it. He needs time.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook responds, stepping away from Taehyung. “This is so hard. We’re here, and things are fantastic, but we’ll go back to school after this weekend and what then? We see our friends and pretend we hardly know each other, as per usual. And what? We keep dating other people? Because I don’t want that. Honestly, that’s the last thing I want. But it’s so difficult when we can’t even talk like friends…”

“Jungkook, you’re scaring me,” Taehyung says cautiously. He never usually talks so much in one go and it’s making Taehyung nervous.

“I just – we’re always going back and forth and I can’t –”

“Like a yoyo?” Taehyung asks gently.

Jungkook stares at him for a second, paused mid-sentence. Then he smiles. “Shut up,” he giggles.

Taehyung smiles back, and it hits him just how much he’s missed hearing Jungkook’s laugh. And that’s what makes him realise – there’s no way he’s letting this go.

“We have to make this work,” Taehyung decides. “I know it’s not ideal, believe me, I get it, but it has to work. It just has to.” He sounds so determined that Jungkook feels himself believing in the words, but his brain is taking over his heart and warning him that it doesn’t make sense.

“Tae, please,” he all but begs. “You’ve promised things before and look where we always end up. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that,” Taehyung says seriously. “I – I’m not good at this; at being in a proper relationship – like, I’m _really_ not. You know that better than anyone else… but I’m learning. I really want this to work with you. I’ll be better, I swear. I’m already doing so much better.”

“Taehyung…” Jungkook mumbles, and Taehyung isn’t sure whether it’s a plea for him to be quiet or a plea for him to carry on.

Or maybe it’s just that Jungkook has missed being able to say his name.

“Jungkook,” Taehyung responds with a small smile, because it’s the only response that seems fitting.

“It’s so safe here,” Jungkook sighs. “It’s like we’re in a little bubble where reality doesn’t touch us.” He looks up at Taehyung, who now seems so much closer than he was a minute ago. He wonders briefly whether they naturally gravitate towards each other when neither of them is paying attention. “But we can come back to reality any second, and we won’t be ready. That’s what scares me,” he admits quietly.

“But for now it’s just us,” Taehyung insists. “Isn’t that the way it should be?”

“The sad thing is,” Jungkook admits with a humourless chuckle, “I want to hold onto you, even though I know you’re like a bomb that could just explode any second, leaving me behind as, well. Shrapnel or something. I guess.” He frowns at his own analogy and Taehyung nods sombrely.

“Ah, Jeon Jungkook, you’ve always had such a way with words.”

“What do we do now then?” Jungkook asks, afraid that their bubble will shatter at any moment. “I can’t help but feel…” He gulps. “I want you.”

Taehyung kisses him softly on the lips. “I want you too,” he responds gently. “I never stopped wanting you.”

Jungkook is the one to kiss him this time, slow and soft and everything that Taehyung has been missing.

Taehyung gulps and subconsciously licks his lips when Jungkook pulls away.

“I think,” Jungkook says hesitantly, before taking a deep breath and trying again. “I think I’ve been waiting for you. I didn’t realise it myself, and I said that I wouldn’t, but I think I did anyway.”

Taehyung isn’t sure how to react to the admission. It makes him feel guilty, but also overwhelmingly hopeful.

Jungkook is staring at him, as if he’s expecting a response; and before Taehyung can think twice about it, he’s taking Jungkook’s hands as he leads him over towards the bed, kissing him again, more passionately this time. Jungkook puts a hand on Taehyung’s chest to steady himself as he almost stumbles over his own feet, but he leaves it there. He holds onto Taehyung’s t-shirt as if it’s going to ground him, grounded in this strange reality where they can actually be together.

They kiss each other deeply, surely, both firm in the knowledge that this is all they really want. Taehyung leans backwards on the bed, pulling Jungkook down on top of him as they press deeper, deeper into the kiss and deeper into each other’s lives. The kissing starts as something fast-paced and desperate, both of them grasping to hold onto each other; but soon they settle into something more gentle, both of them eager to soak up as much of each other as possible before tomorrow comes, along with its empty promises.

Their indulgent kisses carry on deep into the night, allowing them to forget for once where they’re supposed to stand and instead simply be at peace with where they are. Slipping in and out of consciousness throughout the night with fingers laced together under covers, somewhere along the way the lines blur between _let’s keep this a secret_ and _let me show the world that you’re mine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand in the next chapter we'll find out what happens the day after ;D
> 
> aLSO this is so random but I've started another fic - this time the main pairing is yoonmin but it still has side taekook (of course lmao who do you think I am) it's called 'light up the darkness before it all disappears' and it only has 2 chapters so far but if any of you are interested then feel free to check it out! it's pretty different to this one but yeah I just thought I'd mention it ^^
> 
> thank you so much for reading! and remember to leave a comment cause I love chatting with you about the characters! :D


	20. you're the one that I want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung and Jungkook sort some things out (yay!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s a lot of self-indulgent fluff at the beginning of this ngl. I think we’ve earned it :P I’m actually pretty pleased with this chapter so I hope you like it too!
> 
> p.s. happy Jungkook's birthday!!

“Taehyung!” Mrs Kim calls again, wondering how her son hasn’t heard her and woken up yet. She strides over to his bedroom, pushing open the door as another “Taehyung!” dies on her lips. Of course, the fact that she briefly forgot Jungkook had stayed the night is neither here nor there – either way she still would have been surprised to see the pair curled up in bed, limbs tangled together and arms wrapped around each other’s torsos. She smiles fondly before realising she’s interrupting a moment that really should have remained private.

Jungkook stirs and Taehyung’s hand tightens around his waist, pulling him in closer with a sigh. Noticing that the two may well wake up soon, Mrs Kim takes this opportunity to leave the room, closing the door gently behind her and resolving to leave a note about today’s plans instead of checking them with Taehyung in person.

As the door closes, Jungkook’s eyes flutter open before falling shut again.

“Tae,” he mumbles sleepily. Taehyung hums in response. Jungkook reaches forward to bury his head in Taehyung’s chest, blocking out the morning light, and he breathes a sigh of relief as he inhales Taehyung’s scent. “You’re still here,” he whispers contently.

“Well duh. It’s my house,” Taehyung smiles, his eyes opening slightly as he reaches out to ruffle Jungkook’s hair. His heart clenches at how Jungkook’s eyes are still squeezed shut determinedly. Taehyung leaves his hand where it rests on Jungkook’s head, brushing his fingers through Jungkook’s hair happily.

“I just thought you might’ve…” Jungkook yawns. “You keep leaving,” he mumbles, his half-awake state ridding him of his filter. Taehyung’s hand in his hair stills and Jungkook’s eyes shoot open. “Wait, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay,” Taehyung smiles sadly. “You’re right, I suppose.” He kisses Jungkook’s hand that’s still resting on the pillow beside him. “But I’m here now.”

“For how long?” Jungkook whispers back sadly, even though he knows on some level that he shouldn’t ruin the moment.

“As long as you’ll have me,” Taehyung says, gently turning Jungkook’s face so that he’s looking directly into Taehyung’s eyes. “I want to fight for us. I want to make this work.”

Jungkook smiles sleepily. “Me too.” He scoots closer to Taehyung so that they’re laying chest to chest. “But for now I have a much better idea,” he mutters, curling up closer to Taehyung and, well, Taehyung can’t argue with that logic. He drowsily wraps his arms tighter around Jungkook as he feels himself falling back to sleep.

 

***

 

When Jungkook next wakes up, it’s to the sound of someone saying “Jungkook. Get off me. I didn’t realise the time; I was meant to _be_ there 10 minutes ago.” He feels a pair of hands shoving at him and groans as he rolls over.

 _“What,”_ he mumbles, voice muffled by the pillow he’s rolled onto.

“Oh thank god, I thought I might suffocate with you lying on top of me like that,” Taehyung sighs. He then untangles his legs from Jungkook’s, much to Jungkook’s protest, and hops out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Jungkook frowns, blinking his eyes open blearily as Taehyung pulls on a pair of skinny jeans over his boxers.

“Town,” Taehyung replies shortly, pushing through his wardrobe until he finds a suitable black shirt to wear. He chucks a similar one over to Jungkook.

“You can’t just leave me. You promised,” Jungkook says petulantly, watching Taehyung search under the bed for a second sock. (How does he get away with being so messy? Jungkook’s mum would kill him if he kept his room like this.)

Taehyung laughs at that. “I’m not leaving you, silly. You’re coming with me. My mum’s giving us a lift into town, remember?” He looks at Jungkook expectantly.

“Oh.” Because yeah, that was the arrangement, and why Jungkook thought Taehyung would leave him stranded in Taehyung’s house with Taehyung’s parents and no Taehyung is beyond him.

“And right now we’re late,” Taehyung continues, chucking a rare pair of matching socks at Jungkook while he remains wrapped in the duvet covers. “So you need to hurry up and get dressed.”

Jungkook sighs, climbing out from underneath the covers and putting on Taehyung’s socks. “I thought you said you set an alarm?”

At that, Taehyung turns red. “I did…” he mumbles.

“And?” Jungkook prompts.

“Well. I was very distracted last night!” Taehyung defends himself, much to Jungkook’s amusement. “I’m blaming that one hundred percent on you. You’re very distracting to be around and it should _not_ be allowed. _Seriously_ Jungkook, can you put on some clothes?” he interrupts himself, rolling his eyes at Jungkook who winks and then pulls on Taehyung’s clean t-shirt over his bare torso. Taehyung continues to stare at him as Jungkook searches the bedroom for yesterday’s jeans. “Anyway. I may not have been thinking straight and, uh, I may have actually set the alarm for when I was supposed to be there rather than when I was supposed to get up. So I only woke up…” Taehyung checks his watch. “14 minutes ago.”

Jungkook (unsuccessfully) stifles a laugh. “Taehyung. You live, like, an hour away. Even if you got ready in three seconds flat, that would still make you an hour late. How could you possibly think…?”

“I told you – you distracted me,” Taehyung huffs, turning towards Jungkook. “It’s not my fault you showed up and changed all my plans.”

“Actually, it _is_ your fault I showed up,” Jungkook counters. He then frowns in confusion, having searched the room to no avail. “Taehyung, have you seen – wait, are those my jeans?” He stares at Taehyung incredulously while Taehyung looks down at his choice of clothing.

“Oh shit,” he mutters, pulling off the jeans in embarrassment while Jungkook laughs at him.

“Were you really in such a rush to get ready that you didn’t notice you weren’t wearing your own clothes?” Jungkook is having far too much fun for 10:15am and Taehyung doesn’t like it.

“You distracted me again,” Taehyung huffs indignantly.

“Sure,” Jungkook smirks, pulling on his own jeans, before poking Taehyung (who is currently struggling to put on a pair of Converse) in the cheek. “Tae, you might want to think about some trousers before you put on shoes.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Taehyung repeats, ignoring Jungkook’s loud laughter as he toes off his shoes and opens his wardrobe once again.

 

***

 

Ten minutes later, Jungkook and Taehyung have scrabbled downstairs, somehow fully dressed and with Jungkook’s extra things packed in a helpful plastic bag to take home.

“Took you two long enough to wake up,” Mrs Kim chuckles when she notices her son’s frazzled demeanour. “In your haste to get ready did it occur to you to tell your friends you were going to be late?”

Taehyung gapes and Jungkook rolls his eyes at him, struggling not to laugh. “That actually… didn’t occur to me,” Taehyung admits reluctantly, his quick wit failing him. He pulls out his phone from his pocket and winces when he sees all the messages from the T-Bird group chat. He resolves to think about forming an appropriate response once they’re in the car.

“If you’re both going to the café I’m presuming you didn’t want much for breakfast?” Mrs Kim continues, looking at the two boys expectantly.

“Yeah, I’ll think I’ll skip actually. Need to get going,” Taehyung says decisively.

“Hang on – I’m not going to the café and I won’t be home for over an hour,” Jungkook pouts. “You can’t make me skip out on breakfast just because you didn’t get up.”

“ _Someone_ is already late meeting their friends, Jungkook,” Taehyung hisses.

“Then _someone_ should have set their alarm for the right time,” Jungkook combats, which makes Mrs Kim laugh.

“I wondered what had happened,” she chuckles. “I must admit, I assumed Taehyung would tell his friends you’d be joining them today, but either way I can make you some breakfast if you would like. How do pancakes sound?”

Jungkook’s stomach rumbles, as if on cue, and he scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. “Some cereal or something will be fine, thanks, Mrs Kim. I don’t want to make Taehyung keep his friends waiting even later.”

Taehyung smiles gratefully at Jungkook and Jungkook smiles back. They gaze at each other just a second too long for it to be merely friendly and Mrs Kim pretends not to notice the exchange, instead turning away from them and opening the cereal cupboard for Jungkook to peruse.

“Hey, you have Coco Pops!” Jungkook grins, pulling the box out of the cupboard.

“Oh my God, you are a literal child,” Taehyung rolls his eyes.

“I’m sixteen!” Jungkook protests.

“Exactly,” Taehyung grins.

“I thought you were only fifteen, Jungkook,” Mrs Kim comments offhandedly.

“I was when we met,” Jungkook smiles back, taking the milk Taehyung passes him to pour into his cereal bowl.

“When was your birthday?” she asks interestedly.

“1st of September,” Taehyung and Jungkook say in unison.

Mrs Kim looks at the two of them in amusement before excusing herself to start up the car and get it warmed up for the journey.

Jungkook looks over at Taehyung curiously. “I didn’t know you remembered my birthday,” he says.

“Neither did I,” Taehyung replies honestly, handing Jungkook a spoon. “When’s mine?” he quizzes.

“30th December,” Jungkook responds automatically. “Oh.”

Jungkook takes a seat at the table with his cereal as Taehyung smirks, perching on the seat next to him. “I guess we know each other better than we realised.”

“Yeah, I guess –” Jungkook cuts his agreement short when he sees another spoon land in his cereal bowl. “What are you doing?”

“Eating,” Taehyung shrugs nonchalantly. Jungkook glares at him and Taehyung stares back smugly.

“This is my bowl of cereal! Go get your own,” Jungkook scowls, pulling the bowl in closer towards himself.

“Technically, it’s my bowl,” Taehyung corrects him pointedly. “Also my cereal. And if we’re getting specific, you’re even using my spoon.”

“So all I’m entitled to is the milk?” Jungkook groans as Taehyung helps himself to another spoonful.

“Oh. Forgot about that. Milk’s mine too,” Taehyung grins cheekily.

“You can’t claim everything!” Jungkook argues. “It’s not like you owned the cow, or whatever. I’m taking back my rights. The milk’s mine.”

“Okay, fine,” Taehyung relents. “But I still own the cereal. And once the milk goes chocolatey, the milk and cereal will have mixed. You know what that means, right?”

“What?” Jungkook raises his eyebrows at Taehyung and gives up trying to protect his cereal from invasion.

“We have to split it. Half and half,” Taehyung explains, picking up the bowl from in front of Jungkook and walking over to the fridge where he wolfs it down.

“You owe me a bowl of Coco Pops,” Jungkook grumbles, throwing his now-useless spoon at Taehyung. It hits him square in the chest and Taehyung groans.

“You got milk on my shirt, you twat,” Taehyung complains.

“You started it, you prick,” Jungkook grins back.

Taehyung stalks over, a spoon in each hand as his chosen weapons, the bowl of cereal forgotten on the side counter. Jungkook laughs as Taehyung starts poking him with the spoons, which by the way are near impossible to incur any damage with.

“Are you two quite done?” a low voice asks from the doorway. The two boys turn around to see Mr Kim looking at them slightly disapprovingly, clad in a dressing gown and reading the morning paper.

“Sorry dad,” Taehyung says seriously as he puts his spoons down shamefully.

Jungkook finds it amusing how quickly Taehyung’s playful demeanour changes to one of responsibility, as he watches Taehyung grab a cloth from the sink and wipe down the milky surfaces. Taehyung then whispers to Jungkook that they should make a quick escape before his dad makes him do any more cleaning up as punishment, so Jungkook calls a “Thank you for having me!” to Taehyung’s father as they rush out the door.

Once outside, Taehyung takes Jungkook’s hands sheepishly – his way of apologising for such a speedy exit. “You got everything?” Taehyung asks, nodding at the plastic bag by Jungkook’s feet as he entwines their fingers closer together.

Jungkook nods, but looks hesitantly over at the car running a few metres away. “Tae, your mum’s right there…” he mumbles, pulling his hands away.

Taehyung looks behind him at his mother sat inside the car. She appears to be rooting inside her handbag for something, so Taehyung takes his opportunity. “Quick, while she’s not looking!” He then grabs Jungkook’s wrist, dragging him behind the side of the house where they’re out of view.

Jungkook chuckles at Taehyung’s antics, but the sound catches in his throat when Taehyung presses their bodies close, ghosting his lips over Jungkook’s skin, dropping little feather kisses across his neck and collarbone, before placing a quick kiss on Jungkook’s lips.

“What was that for?” Jungkook asks, a little breathless.

“Just my way of saying thank you,” Taehyung replies, biting his lip nervously.

“For what?” Jungkook breathes, staring right at Taehyung. Taehyung feels the gaze so intently that he’s sure Jungkook can see into his soul.

He shrugs, a small gesture that Jungkook may not notice if their bodies weren’t pressed so close together that he feels every movement Taehyung makes. Taehyung’s hands find purchase on Jungkook’s hips, creeping underneath the black t-shirt – _Taehyung’s_ black t-shirt, he notes, feeling a sense of possessiveness wash over him – to brush over Jungkook’s soft skin.

“For staying with me,” Taehyung explains quietly, kissing Jungkook’s cheek tenderly. Jungkook smiles. “For coming to help me with Soonshim,” he continues, followed by a light kiss on the lips. “For comforting me when I was upset.” A lingering kiss. “For giving me another chance even though you deserve to be treated better.” This kiss lasts longer, Jungkook’s arms wrapping round Taehyung’s waist to stop him from pulling away again. Taehyung tightens his grip on Jungkook’s hips as he deepens the kiss, pushing Jungkook gently against the wall. He feels Jungkook’s gasp rather than hearing it, and Taehyung smiles into the kiss, enjoying the effect he has on Jungkook, before biting at Jungkook’s lip slightly which makes him groan.

“Aren’t you supposed to be meeting your friends?” Jungkook gasps against Taehyung’s lips, surprised at the sudden turn of events. He hasn’t ever been kissed like this before and he’s not entirely sure how to cope with it.

“This is more important,” Taehyung smiles, leaning back in for another kiss. Jungkook also leans back in eagerly, pulling Taehyung closer to him. They only break apart when they hear the front door open, Mr Kim calling to Mrs Kim in the car and asking where the boys have got to.

“They’re still inside, aren’t they?” Mrs Kim replies as she rolls down the window.

Jungkook looks at Taehyung, alarmed, because they can’t get back to the front of the house without Taehyung’s parents seeing where they were standing, but Taehyung just winks at Jungkook before stepping out from their hiding place.

“Talking about us?” Taehyung smirks as he strolls forward casually. Jungkook follows warily. “I was just showing Jungkook the back garden before we left; it was too dark to see yesterday. You know he never went into the garden when he came here over summer?”

“You can get to the back garden by walking round the side of the house?”  Jungkook whispers, but Taehyung pinches him on the arm to stop him from talking.

“No worries,” Mr Kim smiles, heading back inside.

Jungkook breathes a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.

“What did you think of the garden, Jungkook?” Mrs Kim asks as the two boys hop into the back of the car. They put on their seatbelts and Mrs Kim pulls out of the drive.

“It’s beautiful,” Jungkook replies, hoping this is a satisfactory answer. He looks at Taehyung unsurely, who smiles encouragingly in response.

“Did Taehyung show you the big oak tree?” she continues. “It’s been there for decades; really the pride and joy of the garden. It was actually a big selling point when we bought the property a few years ago.”

There’s silence in the back of the car as Jungkook shoots Taehyung a worried glance. Mrs Kim looks at them curiously in the rearview mirror.

“I didn’t show him actually, mum,” Taehyung jumps in. “I didn’t give him a tour or anything; just an overview.”

Jungkook glares at Taehyung, as if to say ‘how big is your garden?!’ and Taehyung shoots him a warning glance in reply.

Mrs Kim notes how on edge they both seem, before taking in their dishevelled appearance, complete with newly-swollen lips. “I see,” she responds, knowing full well that Jungkook hasn’t seen any of the garden, let alone the big oak tree. She lets the conversation die, to Jungkook’s relief, and they remain quiet as Taehyung pulls out his phone. He then frowns at the group chat and Jungkook looks curiously over his shoulder.

There’s a string of messages, sent from 9:50am onwards, discussing people’s whereabouts. It starts with Suga saying he’s arrived and asking where everyone is (because of course he would arrive early and then complain about it) and it finishes with Hani at 10:15 assuring everyone that she’s almost there. There are a few messages in the middle with the four T-Birds wondering where V is – J-Hope says he’ll ring V’s mobile, but then he announces that there’s no answer.

Taehyung turns around in his seat to see Jungkook laughing at him. “This isn’t funny,” Taehyung protests. “I need to figure out how to tell them why I was so late and wouldn’t answer my phone. This isn’t like me, Jungkook! I have an image to uphold!”

“Give it here, I’ll sort it,” Jungkook smiles, gesturing for Taehyung to pass over his phone. He hands it over reluctantly. Jungkook types out a quick message, hits send and then returns the phone.

Taehyung stares at the phone in barely-concealed horror.

 _10:43am, V_ – **hey sos guys I overslept cos I’m a twit but hey it’s all god cuz I’m on my way now yayy**

“Jungkook. You are an idiot,” Taehyung says with a straight face, looking over at his. Boyfriend? Taehyung resolves to think about that later. “You spelt ‘soz’ wrong. It’s meant to have a Z on the end. You wrote ‘S.O.S.’”

“Oh,” Jungkook frowns.

That’s all the response Taehyung gets.

“Seriously, I don’t talk like this!” Taehyung splutters, struggling on whether to be more annoyed or more embarrassed. “You were meant to fix things, not give me more to explain. Oh my God, you spelt ‘cause’ in two different ways.” He releases a long-suffering sigh. “Why did you even apologise? I never apologise.”

“It’s okay; they won’t realise it’s an apology. They’ll just think you’re asking them to save your soul,” Jungkook grins widely.

“Oh my God, I hate you,” Taehyung groans. “What the hell is that ‘yay’ doing on the end anyway?”

“I thought it would be funny,” Jungkook smirks. “And, by the way, I was definitely right.”

“I’m not laughing,” Taehyung points out with a stern look.

“I am,” Jungkook snorts.

 

***

 

When they finally get into town, Taehyung gets his mum to pull over a few streets down from the café.

“I can drop you a little closer if you want,” Mrs Kim frowns.

“No that’s okay,” Taehyung insists. “Jungkook’s not going anyway and this street is closer to his house.”

“Okay, well I’ll see you this evening then,” Mrs Kim sighs, rolling her eyes at Jungkook conspiratorially, who laughs. Mrs Kim may be a fully grown adult, but Jungkook definitely sees a lot of similarities between her and Taehyung. “You said you were getting the bus home, didn’t you?” Mrs Kim confirms.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Taehyung nods, stepping out of the car and holding the door open for Jungkook, who shifts along the backseat and hops out onto the pavement.

“Thanks for the lift Mrs Kim, and for letting me stay the night,” Jungkook says, poking his head through the car door to talk to her better.

“Not a problem at all, Jungkook; you’re always welcome,” Mrs Kim smiles warmly. She then directs her attention to her son, who’s shifting from foot to foot on the pavement as he waits for Jungkook. Jungkook removes his head from the car, collects his small bag of clothes and closes the car door behind him.

Mrs Kim rolls down the window. “Taehyung, you must invite him over again soon,” she instructs seriously before driving away with a wave.

Taehyung smiles brightly at Jungkook as they begin walking down the street. “Talking of which, what are you up to tonight? Fancy doing something together, just the two of us?”

Jungkook sighs. “That sounds great, but I’ve got something more important to do.”

“What’s that?” Taehyung asks interestedly.

“Yugyeom,” Jungkook explains shortly, hoping the name will convey everything he needs to sort out tonight.

Taehyung stops walking for a second, his gaze focused on a building straight ahead of him.

Jungkook pauses and frowns at the building that’s captured Taehyung’s attention, but he doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. He then directs his frown at Taehyung. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Taehyung says, his voice sounding strained. Suddenly Jungkook realises how his words may have been misinterpreted.

“Wait, no, that’s not what I meant,” Jungkook hurries to explain, but Taehyung cuts him off as they reach the corner of the road.

“Your house is down that way,” he interrupts gently, pushing Jungkook in the right direction. “I’ll see you Monday, I guess?” Taehyung tries to keep the disappointment from his face, not noticing that Jungkook is struggling to do the same.

“Um… About Monday…” Jungkook hesitates.

Taehyung sighs, knowing what Jungkook is referring to. “We can be friendly, okay? I need to stop pretending that I hate you, for one. But just… try not to be too cute when you’re around me. I know it’s hard,” he smiles apologetically.

“I’ll try,” Jungkook chuckles. He turns away and makes it a couple more metres down the road before he turns around again. “Taehyung – when I said about Yugyeom, I only meant –”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Jungkook,” Taehyung cuts him off. “It’s got nothing to do with me anyway.” With that Taehyung walks away, not for the first time leaving Jungkook feeling upset and confused.

 

***

 

The T-Birds are more worried about V than ever. He’s sometimes unreliable, but he’s not usually quite so flaky with arrangements like this, so when he doesn’t turn up on time they all feel much more nervous about him than they let on.

However, when they see V walk into the café wearing his usual skinny jeans, T-Bird jacket and black eyeliner, they all feel a sense of relief wash over them. Whatever was wrong with V this week, it looks like it’s over now. J-Hope especially doesn’t want to push V into talking about what happened in case he pushes them all away again, so he suggests to the others that instead, they should simply accept that everything is back to normal and act like normal in return.

That means that when V navigates his way to the T-Bird table, it’s to choruses of “finally” and “where the hell have you been?” – plus a “By the way, what does ‘it’s all God’ mean? I didn’t think you were religious,” from LE.

V frowns before looking at the message LE is pointing at. (It’s the catastrophe that Jungkook will be killed for later.) V blanches at the blatant typo. “I didn’t even notice that one,” he mutters before sitting down.

“What do you mean?” Hani asks.

“Oh yeah. That wasn’t me who sent the message. I’m late and proud and apologise for nothing,” V grins.

J-Hope smiles, feeling overwhelmingly relieved that V is acting like himself again. But – “Who sent it then?” he asks curiously.

 _Well. There’s a good question._ V silently curses at himself for not thinking to plan an answer.

But luckily, as always, Hani has his back. “Oh my God, did Jennie stay over?!” she asks him delightedly, only just taking in V’s slightly dishevelled appearance.

“I suppose,” V agrees readily, latching onto the excuse.

“What did you get up to?” J-Hope smirks.

“What do people usually get up to when they share a bed?” V smirks back. He could easily give them some fake crude details – God knows he’s done that before – but right now the thought of Jennie is actually making him feel a bit ill. Remembering Jennie means remembering what he put Jungkook through.

“So is this thing with Jennie serious?” Hani asks, breaking Taehyung out of his thoughts.

“No, not really,” he shrugs.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this again,” LE mutters.

J-Hope shoots her a warning look, but she ignores it.

“Doing what?” V asks, feigning innocence, although he knows what she’s talking about. It’s still a weird question; she’s never brought it up before.

LE catches J-Hope’s eye before sighing and averting her gaze. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

V raises his eyebrows. “Shouldn’t have said _what?_ ” he frowns, vaguely annoyed – since when did they all have a problem with him getting off with different girls? And this time it isn’t even _true_.

LE shakes her head and averts his gaze. V reluctantly lets it go and the conversation moves onto lighter things, like how J-Hope’s new dance routine is coming along, or why Hani can never land a date with a _decent_ guy. The topic of Jennie doesn’t come up again until she’s walking into the café to start her shift and neither of them make an effort to acknowledge each other.

“You’re just playing with her,” Suga sighs, seeming disappointed. “She’s a person too, you know?”

“She didn’t acknowledge me either,” V points out.

“You know that’s not what I’m referring to,” Suga says shortly.

“No. I _don’t_ know,” V protests petulantly.

Suga shares a frustrated look with LE and V feels slightly like they’re ganging up on him.

“We just thought that when you got into year 13 you might actually grow up a bit,” Suga shakes his head. “And you’ve been fucking _weird_ this week so I don’t know, excuse me if I thought maybe you realised you actually _cared_ about the person you were screwing things up with this time? But here you are again, just screwing someone else and screwing with their head.”

V finds himself narrowing his eyes at Suga. Did it ever occur to them that maybe V had such trouble finding a steady relationship because he simply wasn’t interested in any of the girls he met? “Just because you fell head over heels for Jimin doesn’t mean it’s so easy for the rest of us,” he snaps.

J-Hope raises his eyebrows, shocked by the (albeit weak) personal attack, but Suga’s facial expression doesn’t change.

“Yelling at me for being happy is the same as admitting you’re unhappy yourself,” Suga replies calmly.

There’s nothing more infuriating than trying to argue with someone who won’t react, and they both know it.

“At least _someone_ can get some when he _wants_ , instead of spending his life pining over somebody who doesn’t even care,” V attacks. As soon as the words are out of his mouth he knows he’s stepped over the line.

Suga’s eyes narrow to slits and V suddenly feels extremely guilty.

“That’s enough,” LE steps in. She looks between the two sternly. “Whatever your problem is V, you need to sort it out yourself because we’re not going to help you if you talk to us like that. Clear?”

On some level V knows that LE is harmless, but right now it’s difficult not to believe the rumours that she really is as dangerous as her sister. Especially right now when she looks like she might kill him if he steps out of line again. V nods mutely.

Before it can get too awkward, Hani the Tension Destroyer strikes again with a stupid psychology pun that none of them understand, and the rest of them all move on.

But all V can think about is how LE and Suga are right. He hasn’t grown up and he’s still messing people about – even if unintentionally. He knows that he needs to sort himself out, and even if he has Bambam there to help him through the process, accepting himself is something he needs to learn to do on his own.

He knows that his friends aren’t homophobic: they all supported Suga wholeheartedly after finding out he was polysexual. But Suga has never mentioned his sexuality being an issue for him and V can’t see him having any useful advice on the topic if he hasn’t had first-hand experience. Bambam was also no use when V brought it up – who could V talk to about all this who would understand the struggle?

Jungkook’s face pops into his head uninvited – but then Yugyeom’s face appears next to it and V shakes off the thought determinedly.

Eventually they leave the café and head into town, V walking with J-Hope and Suga while the girls leave to go clothes shopping. At some point Jimin joins them, but although V enjoys his company, he really wishes Jimin would leave because the Pink Lady jacket is only reminding V about Jungkook; about everything that was almost his last night until he was forced back to reality.

 

***

By the time Yugyeom meets Jungkook in the café, the T-Birds are long gone. Jungkook thanks the heavens for that, because he really didn’t think through the meeting place when Yugyeom suggested it today.

Thinking about it, Jungkook wasn’t tactful at all with the text he sent him. ‘We need to talk’ is generally the phrase used for ‘I’m going to break up with you’, but Jungkook used it word for word without considering how impersonal it may sound, especially given his and Yugyeom’s close friendship. Either way, Yugyeom is stood in front of him right now and there’s no way of getting around what is about to happen. Jungkook knows that he needs to break things off, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking forward to hurting his friend in the process.

“You wanted to talk?” Yugyeom says when Jungkook makes no move to speak. Yugyeom says the words carefully, as if he knows where this is leading but he doesn’t want to show Jungkook that he already knows. As if, even after all of this, Yugyeom is still trying to protect Jungkook. It makes him feel sick, knowing that he’s used his friend like that.

“I don’t think we should date anymore,” Jungkook says all in one breath. He meant to lead into it, or to at least phrase it more kindly, but maybe this is better anyway: zero sugar-coating mean zero room for miscommunication.

Yugyeom nods, not seeming as surprised as Jungkook thought he would be. “It’s your ex, right?” Yugyeom asks, but it isn’t really a question. He says it like he already knows the answer. “You’re not really over him.”

“What makes you think that?” Jungkook replies, torn between defensiveness and surprise that Yugyeom has managed to see right through him.

“I could see it in your eyes,” Yugyeom responds simply. “When you looked at me, it was like you were looking for someone else.”

Jungkook looks down, unsure of how to reply, because Yugyeom is right. And on some level Yugyeom must know it too, because after a short lapse in conversation he nods again, allowing the pieces to slot together in his mind. He knew it all along, really; that Jungkook wasn’t his to have.

“That was him before, wasn’t it? On the phone yesterday?” Yugyeom continues. It still isn’t a question.

Jungkook nods sadly, returning his gaze to Yugyeom with difficulty. Yugyeom looks disappointed and it feels awful knowing that he’s the reason for it, but Jungkook forces himself to keep looking. “When did you figure it out?” he asks quietly.

“Honestly? I suspected it since you left to take the call, but I didn’t know for sure until you texted me today and said we needed to talk. Until then, I thought it could have been a family emergency or something.”

Jungkook looks down, ashamed – but then he looks up again, still determined to maintain eye contact. After everything, it’s the least Yugyeom deserves. “I’m really sorry,” Jungkook mumbles, his expression downcast. “I really thought I was over him.”

“That’s okay,” Yugyeom replies – too quickly. The lack of hesitation proves that the words aren’t genuine. “Just – give me some time to process, okay?”

Jungkook gulps and nods, astounded that, even after everything he’s put Yugyeom through, Yugyeom still speaks to Jungkook like _he’s_ the one asking for too much.

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook repeats, because he doesn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t be,” Yugyeom says with a smile that’s too contrived. “You can’t help who you fall for – we’ve all learnt that the hard way. And we said this whole thing was only casual anyway, right? Please don’t beat yourself up about this; it’s really alright.”

Jungkook can’t believe how Yugyeom is being so understanding and he finds himself wishing that his feelings were different, because Yugyeom is perfect and it would be so much _easier_ with him.

But what makes sense and what _feels_ right aren’t always the same thing. And Jungkook doesn’t want a relationship that feels easy; he wants a relationship that feels _right_.

 _Taehyung_ feels right.

“You deserve better,” Jungkook says.

“So do you,” Yugyeom responds quietly, almost inaudibly, but Jungkook hears it and it feels like a punch to the gut. “He’d better treat you right this time,” Yugyeom continues, this time intended for Jungkook to hear. “You deserve someone who treats you right.”

“So do you,” Jungkook insists, mirroring Yugyeom’s words. The unspoken sentence hangs between them – _you deserve someone better than me; better than a person who doesn’t like you back._

Yugyeom nods, seeming to understand that the conversation is over. Their trial relationship, or whatever it was, is over too. And it hurts, but it’s better than staying with Jungkook knowing that he doesn’t feel the same. At least now things are out in the open.

“I’ll see you around, Jungkook,” Yugyeom says, already making to leave.

Jungkook furrows his brow. “Pizza night?” he asks hopefully.

Yugyeom chuckles, unable to help himself. Because, really, how could Jungkook think that an unfortunate misunderstanding like this would change things between them? “Yeah,” Yugyeom agrees softly. “I’ll see you there.”

 

***

 

Jungkook doesn’t know how long he stands there, staring after Yugyeom and thinking about what an awful person he must be to put such a good friend through all of that.

At some point the door bursts open and some familiar voices filter through the noise of the café. Really, Jungkook shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as V is the person who introduced him to the café in the first place, but it still catches him off guard when he sees him walk inside.

“Jungkook!” Jimin calls as they notice him standing there. Suga’s arm is wrapped around Jimin’s waist, but nobody seems to be making a big deal about it, so Jungkook doesn’t either. Upon noticing that Jimin’s attention has been diverted, V and J-Hope sidle up to him as well and V’s eyes widen in slight surprise.

“I thought you said you had plans tonight,” V says to Jungkook, ignoring the others’ gazes. (Since when did V start paying attention to Jungkook’s schedule?)

“I, well, Yugyeom just left,” Jungkook explains – clearly inadequately, because V’s expression shifts from confusion to disappointment and Jungkook wants to take everything back. The whole relationship with Yugyeom if he could, even though he knows it’s not a fair thing to think.

“Oh, how’s it going with you two?” J-Hope asks in an effort to be friendly when V doesn’t reply.

“Not… great…” Jungkook frowns, struggling with how to answer such a suddenly irrelevant question. “We actually just broke up. I mean – I did. I broke up with him.”

V’s eyes shoot up to meet Jungkook’s, but nobody notices because Jimin is commanding all the attention as he protests loudly, “Why?! I really liked him.”

“Maybe _you_ should go out with him then,” Suga huffs irritably, removing his arm from Jimin’s waist and wrapping it around his own torso protectively. Jimin frowns at Suga’s reaction, confused and ridiculously oblivious, and the rest of them determinedly ignore the exchange.

“Yeah, you guys were good together,” J-Hope agrees and V kind of wants to attack him for taking Yugyeom’s side in this, even though he knows J-Hope doesn’t fully understand the situation. “What happened?”

“My heart wasn’t in it,” Jungkook shrugs, trying not to look towards V even though he can feel V’s eyes on him.

“Your heart wasn’t in it?!” Jimin sighs exasperatedly, so done with Jungkook’s romantic idealisations. “Well where was it then?”

“Somewhere else,” Jungkook responds simply. Before anyone can question him any further, V offers to buy milkshakes for everyone and the conversation is dropped. They snag a free table and sit down, texting the others to join them for an impromptu group hangout. And if anyone notices the secretive glances V and Jungkook shoot each other across the table, no one says a thing.

 

***

 

Once they’ve all paid, they start putting on their jackets and standing up from their seats. “Right, I’m going to head home,” J-Hope announces. “You coming?” he adds to Taehyung, knowing that the route to his house takes him past the bus stop.

“Nah, the bus isn’t leaving for a while,” Taehyung responds. “I’m just going to hang here for a bit.”

“Okay,” J-Hope shrugs before heading out of the café.

Jungkook takes his time putting on his Pink Lady jacket, making sure that he’s still gathering his things together when the last of their friends leave. Then he sits back down in his seat and smiles nervously at Taehyung. “Do you want to come back to my house while you wait?”

Taehyung looks at him in surprise. “If you want me to.”

Jungkook chuckles. “I broke up with him for a reason, you know,” he says gently.

Taehyung looks around the café nervously – it isn’t too busy, but there are still a few people milling about. “Let’s not talk about this here,” Taehyung says evasively.

Jungkook grins. “So that’s a yes then?”

Taehyung can’t help but grin back.

On the walk back to Jungkook’s house, the streets are surprisingly empty, so Taehyung shyly grabs Jungkook’s hand as they walk and hopes that he hasn’t overstepped any boundaries. Jungkook squeezes his hand in response before threading their fingers together, and Taehyung breathes an internal sigh of relief.

“Mum, I’m home and Taehyung’s here too,” Jungkook calls into the house before dragging Taehyung up to his room. “She won’t disturb us up here. Let’s talk.” He settles onto his bed and looks at Taehyung expectedly.

Taehyung bites his lip. “I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say,” he begins anxiously. There’s a pause as Taehyung sits down on the bed next to Jungkook, making sure to leave enough space between them so that he doesn’t get distracted. He has some things he needs to say. “Nothing’s changed since yesterday. I still want you, but I’m still not ready for everyone to know about – about me being gay.” It’s stupid, maybe, how much extra effort he has to put in to say the word ‘gay’ where he usually would have avoided it. He tends to trail off uncomfortably in situations like these, or perhaps simply finish the sentence with ‘for everyone to know’ and leave it at that, hoping that the rest is implied. But Taehyung is determined to accept who he is, and he’s determined to do it properly.

Jungkook seems to notice the difference too, because his eyes widen slightly in surprise and it makes him look completely adorable. So adorable, in fact, that before he realises what he’s doing, Taehyung has leaned over and kissed Jungkook.

Jungkook kisses back, of course, because he’s been unintentionally waiting for Taehyung to come back to him for _two months_ and he isn’t going to protest when the opportunity presents itself, even if Taehyung is sending him mixed signals. He doesn’t want to think about it, or think about what it means – he simply wants to be. Or, more specifically, to be with Taehyung.

After a few minutes of aimless kissing, Taehyung reluctantly pulls back. “Kookie,” he says carefully, regretfully. “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m trying to accept who I am and to get used to the idea of other people knowing too, and I’m getting better but I’m not _there_. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then don’t,” Jungkook says gently.

“I don’t want us to have the same problems we did before,” Taehyung continues anxiously. “So – I’ve figured out a game plan. I’m thinking I’ll start small; come out to a couple of close friends and do it gradually. I’ll work on sorting through my insecurities in the meantime, and then, after a couple of months, maybe I’d be ready for us to –”

“No,” Jungkook interrupts him.

“No?” Taehyung repeats weakly. He knows that it’s selfish of him to ask Jungkook to wait for him, but he wasn't expecting such a blatant dismissal of the suggestion. “But what if –”

“I said no,” Jungkook reiterates, more gently this time. “You don’t have to go through this on your own, Tae.”

Taehyung blinks. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t have to come out to feel like you deserve me,” Jungkook explains. “You don’t have to push yourself into anything – you just have to stop pushing me away. But we can get through this, together.”

Taehyung releases a shaky breath and subconsciously leans closer to Jungkook. “Are you… are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he murmurs.

“I’m saying – be with me. Not in two months, but now.”

“But – all the secrecy and the hiding and –”

“I don’t care,” Jungkook mumbles, his breath warm against Taehyung’s lips. Taehyung wonders when he got so close. “It was bad enough the first three times, Tae. Please don’t make me leave you again.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” Taehyung mumbles back. “I want you to stay.”

“Then I’ll stay,” Jungkook whispers. “Just… say that you’ll stay, too. I don’t want you to push me away again.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Taehyung sighs, relieved. “Jungkook…”

“Don’t talk anymore,” Jungkook mutters. “We’ll figure everything out together, okay? But not right now. _Now_ is for us. How much time do we have before your bus leaves?”

Taehyung checks the time on his phone and then says, “Half an hour.”

Jungkook sighs contently, putting a hand on Taehyung’s waist and shifting their bodies closer together. “We have plenty of time, then,” he says happily.

Taehyung chuckles. “I have a feeling half an hour will go pretty quickly.”

Jungkook grins and leans even closer, but Taehyung shakes his head.

“Kookie, seriously. I want to kiss you too, but… I think one of the problems we had before was that we never talked about anything. We ignored reality and suddenly when it became too much to ignore, we didn’t know how to deal with that. Now, I’m not saying that to try and avoid responsibility for what went wrong with us,” Taehyung says carefully when he sees the incredulous look directed his way. “I know that it’s my fault we broke up – but you can’t act like we didn’t have any problems before that.”

Jungkook sighs. “It’s so much easier when it’s just us, though.”

“I know,” Taehyung says comfortingly, placing his hands over Jungkook’s where they rest on his waist and giving them a light squeeze. “But, like it or not, the rest of the world exists.”

Jungkook nods, seeming to think it through. “Okay. You’re right. What’s the plan?”

Taehyung laughs. “I’m not sure yet. We’ll have to come up with one together.”

So, in the remaining twenty minutes before Taehyung has to leave to go home, Taehyung and Jungkook lie down on Jungkook’s bed, cuddled close together as they discuss where they’re going to go from here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the ending of this chapter isn't too sudden lol I wasn't really sure where to leave it
> 
> sooooo things have been discussed now and Yugyeom's no longer in the dark... what do you think?
> 
> remember to leave me a comment so I don't feel lonely hehe ^^


	21. that's the way it should be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung and Jungkook try to make sure they do their relationship "properly" this time. In the meantime, Rosé starts planning her birthday party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first things first: I'm so hyped for BTS's comeback you have no idea. Serendipity killed me.
> 
> ANYWAY I don't have much to say about this one, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!! let's go!

On Monday, V is determined to get things off to a good start. Now that he and Jungkook are seeing each other again, he wants to make sure he does things properly this time – and that includes making an effort to talk to him, even when other people are around. Besides, if the T-Birds and Pink Ladies believe that V and Jungkook have become good friends, maybe it won’t be such a big deal to them when they find out that they’re dating.

So, at the beginning of school when the Pink Ladies walk over to the T-Birds to say hello, V still says “Hi everyone,” but also adds on, “Hi Jungkook.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise as LE gives V a weird look. “Why does Jungkook get his own greeting?”

V shrugs nonchalantly. “Just trying to be friendly.”

There’s a slight pause.

Rosé stares at Jungkook before hissing, “Aren’t you going to reply?”

Jungkook coughs awkwardly, then opens his mouth to speak. “Uh – hi. Hello. How are you?” Well… great. Ideally, this isn’t how Jungkook’s brain should have chosen to respond. Instead of just accepting the greeting, he’s now tried to instigate conversation and made it awkward.

“I’m doing great,” V responds, mildly amused by Jungkook’s reaction. “How are you?”

Jungkook blanches, struggling to accept that they’re _still_ talking to each other. In front of everyone. “Uh – I’m fine,” he stutters. “Thanks. And you?” He winces. “I already asked you that.”

V bites his lip nervously, trying to think of a way to salvage the situation. He only wanted to be considerate, but he didn’t factor in how surprised Jungkook could be about V actually talking to him in front of their friends. Thinking about it now, this must be the most they’ve talked in front of the others in a while, and the thought makes V feel a pang of guilt in his chest.

“That’s okay. I’m still doing great,” V replies kindly. “Thanks for asking.”

Jungkook stares at him, dumbfounded, before turning around and leaving without another word.

V stares after him in alarm, but he quickly schools it into an expression of faint amusement when Hani giggles and tells V, “I think you scared him.”

 

***

 

When  Jungkook checks his phone later that day, he sees that Taehyung texted him almost immediately after their greeting this morning.

**I’m so sorry!!! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable :((( xxxxxxxx**

Jungkook laughs at the obscene amount of kisses tagged on the end and sends back,

**You didn’t! I was just a bit shocked x**

Taehyung’s reply comes through immediately.

**Only one kiss? :( xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Jungkook snorts.

**I feel like sixteen is a bit excessive**

he responds, trying to contain his smile as he sits down at the lunch table. He’s too immersed in his phone to notice when Jin and Jisoo also sit down with him.

**Is this my punishment for embarrassing you? D: xxxxxxx**

Taehyung replies, deliberately halving the number of kisses, and Jungkook fondly contemplates how much Taehyung is overthinking it.

**Something like that xxx**

he texts back, adding on the kisses so that Taehyung knows he isn’t really mad.

Rosé sits down next to Jungkook. “Who you texting?”

“Nothing,” Jungkook responds quickly, locking his phone and putting it away in his pocket.

Rosé holds back a laugh at his illogical answer and comments, “Subtle.” She rolls her eyes and directs her attention towards Jin and Jisoo on the other side of the table. “Anyway. I wanted to talk to you guys about my birthday. So. You all know about my party next Saturday, but I’ve decided to do something on the actual day I turn 17 as well! So who’s up for a night out clubbing with yours truly?”

Jisoo cheers in response and Jin grins enthusiastically, but Jungkook looks around at them warily.

“On a Tuesday night?” he asks hesitantly. “But – I’m not even old enough to go clubbing. Come to think of it, neither are you.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Rosé says quickly. “You’re not invited.”

Jungkook stares at her in shock for a second before looking down at his food determinedly, unsure of how to reply.

He doesn’t notice Jisoo kicking Rosé under the table or Jin mouthing ‘apologise’ to her. All he senses is the awkwardness in the silence that follows, so he quickly stands up to leave the canteen. He doesn’t need anyone saying something to comfort him or to explain why he isn’t invited; it would only make him more embarrassed that he assumed he would be going. He thought things had now changed between him and Rosé, but maybe he just read the situation wrong.

Once Jungkook is out of sight, Jisoo glares at Rosé and hisses, “What the _fuck_ , Ro?”

Rosé winces. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was only trying to be considerate.”

“How is announcing your birthday plans in front of him and then telling him he isn’t invited ‘considerate’?” Jin asks pointedly.

Rosé looks at them guiltily. “He said it himself; he’s not old enough to go and it’s a school night anyway. I figured he wouldn’t be interested, but if I invited him he might feel obligated to come even if he didn’t want to. I thought this would make the decision easier for him.”

“It’s not making a decision easier if you give them no choice,” Jin snaps.

“I really didn’t mean to upset him,” Rosé says sulkily.

Jisoo sighs. “I get what you were trying to do, but Ro, you _really_ need to be more tactful. You’re so brash and he’s pretty sensitive, you know?”

“I know,” Rosé grumbles around a mouthful of food. Jin and Jisoo can recognise that she’s stress-eating. After a minute she mumbles, “I’ll find him later and apologise.”

 

***

 

That day after school, Jungkook and Taehyung meet each other at the park. They wander around for a while, chatting to each other about their day while they try and find a quiet place that they can sit down.

“You seem a bit down,” Taehyung comments as they walk. “Is it because of me?”

Jungkook glances at him in confusion before he realises what Taehyung is referring to. “Oh, no, it’s not that. I know you were just trying to make me feel more acknowledged, or whatever. Which is nice. Actually… it’s Rosé,” he admits, with a quick side glance at Taehyung to check that this isn’t a sore topic for him. When he gestures for Jungkook to go on, he continues, “She didn’t invite me to her birthday party.”

Taehyung stares at him incredulously. “You mean the thing next Saturday?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “No, not that. She’s also going clubbing with her friends on Tuesday and she literally told me I’m not invited. Right in front of the others, as well. I felt so stupid for assuming I’d be going.”

Taehyung frowns. “That’s really mean,” he comments, taking Jungkook’s hand in his and brushing his thumb over Jungkook’s knuckles consolingly.

Jungkook hides his small smile at the gesture and shrugs. “I saw her trying to find me at the end of school today. She looked kind of frantic and… guilty, or something, which seemed pretty out of character. But I just left, I don’t know. I already felt so embarrassed and I didn’t want her to feel like she had to make excuses. If she doesn’t want me there, that’s her choice. It’s her birthday.” He sighs. “Whatever. It just sucks, because I know everyone will be there except me.”

Taehyung smiles gently. “If it makes you feel any better, she didn’t invite me, either. Or Hani, or LE.”

“Why?” Jungkook frowns.

Taehyung laughs. “Because she doesn’t like us. Anyway, we were thinking we’d crash the party; follow them around the clubs even though we weren’t meant to be there, because she can’t _stop_ us from doing that. We thought it’d be funny, too, you know? Trailing behind them and pretending that we just _happened_ to want to go to the same places and that the whole thing was a complete coincidence.” He shrugs. “But if you’re not going to be there, why don’t we do something together instead?”

Jungkook’s eyes light up. “Really?”

“Yeah, it won’t be nearly as much fun without you there, anyway. Let me take you out – on a real date, in public and everything,” Taehyung says emphatically. “I’ll even pay for everything.”

“I’m not dating you because I want you to buy me things,” Jungkook snorts.

“I know,” Taehyung grins. “But I want you to know that you’re _worth_ spending all my money on.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “Okay.” He looks at Taehyung carefully. “Do you really mean ‘in public’ though? I mean, what if people see us?”

“It’s the perfect scenario,” Taehyung says excitedly. “We know that the other T-Birds and Pink Ladies won’t see us because they’ll all be with Rosé. And nobody else will bat an eyelid at a Pink Lady and a T-Bird hanging out together.”

Jungkook looks at Taehyung hopefully and squeezes his hand. “Are we really doing this then?”

“I mean, if you want to,” Taehyung smiles. “We’ll have to skip dance practice, and I know you really like having pizza night with the others, so if you’d rather do that –”

“No,” Jungkook interrupts. “I want this. If I’m going out with you, I want to actually go _out._ You know – _with_ you.”

Taehyung smiles, uninhibited and carefree. “Good. Me too.” He and Jungkook come to a stop next to a clearing surrounded by trees and Taehyung frowns. “Wow, I hadn’t realised where we were. Do you remember this place?”

“Of course I do,” Jungkook responds softly. “The first time we fought. When – when I told you I wanted to forget about us.”

Taehyung sighs. “We should go.”

Jungkook tugs on Taehyung’s hand. “This is actually a pretty good place, you know. Secluded. And nobody was around when we were here before.”

“Before, it was cold. No one was in the park at all,” Taehyung points out.

“But nobody’s here _now_ ,” Jungkook insists.

“It’s winter,” Taehyung chuckles, but then he considers it. “I guess it is out of the way of the path. And it’s got a pretty nice ambiance, if you forget about the bad memories.”

Jungkook nods. “I don’t want to have to think of this as a sad place. What do you say we just make new memories here?”

Taehyung smiles. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

So they settle in the clearing in the park as their new meeting place; deciding that from now on they’ll meet each other here each day after school. It might not seem like much, but making sure that they see each other every day is the first step in making things work in the long run.

 

***

 

The next day at dance practice, Jungkook enters the practice room hardly 15 seconds before class begins, simply because he doesn’t want to deal with the awkwardness of having both his ex-three-times-over-and-now-current boyfriend in the same room as his almost-ex-except-it-was-only-casual boyfriend. However, it turns out that he needn’t have worried so much about Yugyeom, because although he isn’t quite as talkative with Jungkook today, he doesn’t let things become awkward in the slightest, even later that night when they’re all sitting and watching Goldfinger together.

The seating arrangement is slightly different, with Bambam choosing to sit in the middle in between Jungkook and Yugyeom, which Jungkook supposes is deliberate. But nobody says anything, so Jungkook doesn’t either and the conversation remains light throughout the evening. Yugyeom’s complaint that “This film is so old,” followed by Bambam’s response that “it’s a _classic_ ” is about as controversial as things get.

But just as Yugyeom is leaving Bambam’s house and Jungkook is starting to head out of the door too, Bambam mentions that he has a DVD he wants to lend Jungkook, so Yugyeom bids them both goodbye and the front door closes.

Jungkook looks at Bambam expectantly.

Then silence.

“Uh – what was the DVD you wanted to lend me?” Jungkook ventures cautiously, trying to ignore the change in atmosphere. Bambam’s face doesn’t look nearly as friendly as it did a second ago.

“You know there’s no DVD, Jungkook,” he responds calmly, his expression unreadable. “Sit down.”

Jungkook gulps but does as he’s told, heading back into the living room and sitting down on the sofa.

Bambam sits down a respectable distance away, before shaking his head incredulously, as if he’s wondering where to begin. “You _knew_ what you were doing to him, Jungkook,” he says eventually. “Yugyeom is too nice to say anything, so I guess the responsibility falls to me. And, for the next few minutes, I’m not speaking to you as your friend, okay? I’m speaking to you as Yugyeom’s. Because somebody needs to say this to you and it’s clearly not going to be him.” He takes a deep breath and then begins. “How could you _do_ that? You knew how much he liked you and I tried to talk to you about it but you refused to listen. Shit, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but I’m really struggling right now.”

Jungkook looks at him guiltily. “I told him when it started that I didn’t know how much I could commit to him,” he says quietly. “That I only wanted to try it out.”

“If you knew you couldn’t commit then why did you start it in the first place?” Bambam argues. “Maybe _you_ just wanted to ‘try it out’, but did you ever consider that it meant more to him? That he only said yes to such a flaky arrangement because it meant he’d actually get to experience being with you?”

Jungkook gulps. “I really didn’t mean to hurt him. It was a mistake. It was – it was all a mistake. I didn’t –”

“You can’t just _take it back_ , Jungkook,” Bambam snaps. “You can’t take back what happened with Yugyeom, just like you can’t take back what happened with V to make you break up in the first place.”

“You – how do you know about that?” Jungkook asks weakly.

“V told me. You shouldn’t have to hide it, you know,” Bambam sighs. “And really. It sucks how he treated you before – I know it, you know it, he knows it. We all do. But then you went and did the exact same thing to Yugyeom and now I don’t feel so much sympathy.”

Jungkook frowns in confusion. “I – what? I didn’t do the same thing.”

“I know that you left your date with Yugyeom on Saturday to go see him,” Bambam scoffs. “You really want to try telling me that nothing happened?”

Jungkook gapes. “I didn’t _cheat_ on him.”

“No?” Bambam says dubiously.

“I – you can’t cheat on someone without being in a relationship. It was only casual,” Jungkook protests sadly.

“You know it wasn’t for him,” Bambam responds curtly.

Jungkook shakes his head. “How am I supposed to know all that? He said he was fine with it – he seemed _fine_ , he seemed –”

“ _You_ seemed fine,” Bambam interjects pointedly. “And we both know that wasn’t true.”

Jungkook exhales shakily. “Seriously. I thought I was over him. I didn’t _know_. I just – I didn’t _mean_ to, okay? I swear I didn’t.”

Bambam sighs. “Yeah, I know. I know you didn’t do it deliberately. But you still _did_ it. And from what I understand, V never meant to hurt you, either. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t still hurt like hell.” He stands up decisively and walks towards the front door, Jungkook following him warily. “I’m not going to pretend I’m happy about what happened, or how you ended things with him, or any of that. But I also don’t want this conversation to make things awkward between us in the future. I just needed to get that out so we could start over on a clean slate.”

Jungkook sighs. “Okay. And I really am sorry.”

Bambam shakes his head. “It’s not me you should be apologising to.” With that, he opens the door and leaves it wide open before heading upstairs without another word.

Jungkook lets himself out.

 

***

 

A couple of days later, Jungkook gets out his laptop and Skypes Junghwa.

“Thank _God_ ,” she says by way of greeting when she picks up on the second ring. “I was going crazy here, Jungkook. I hate us fighting. I was so worried you weren’t going to cave and that _I’d_ have to say something – and you _know_ how stubborn I am.”

Jungkook laughs despite himself. “I need some advice, Hwook. Can you help me?”

“Always,” she responds diligently.

“Without interrupting,” he adds sternly.

Junghwa rolls her eyes but nods for him to continue.

Once Jungkook has finished explaining the events of this past weekend to Junghwa as well as the conversation with Bambam last night, he sighs and sits back in his chair. “So. What do you think?”

Junghwa pauses contemplatively. “Well, what I’m taking from this is that – I was _right_.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay, _fine_. You were right. I was never over him. But you know that’s not what I’m asking about. Did – did I really cheat on him?” he asks nervously.

Junghwa looks at him sympathetically. “Does it really matter what you call it? It doesn’t change the situation.”

Jungkook gulps. “So that’s a yes.”

“As far as you were concerned, you weren’t really together,” Junghwa says apprehensively. “But it sounds like maybe Yugyeom had different expectations. I don’t really know, Jungkook; it seems pretty complex.”

“So… what do I do?” Jungkook mumbles.

“You don’t do anything,” Junghwa says nonchalantly. “You’ve already apologised to Yugyeom, so just give him some space and allow him to move on. Honestly, I think Bambam was out of order getting mad at you like that, especially when you already sorted things out with Yugyeom and he seemed to forgive you. But I guess I can’t really blame him when I would have done the exact same thing for you. Do you know how close I was to tracking down V after he cheated on you and giving him a piece of my mind?” She rolls her eyes. “The only thing stopping me was that V isn’t his actual fucking name. I couldn’t find his details _anywhere_. But anyway,” she says decisively, “I’m glad you’re happy. And, talking of V, have you talked to him about your conversation with Bambam?”

“No,” Jungkook admits. “I kind of wanted to talk to you first. After what happened between us, it’s a bit of a sensitive topic, you know?”

Junghwa shakes her head. “Hwook, I think it’s a mistake to avoid talking about it with him. It’s like Bambam said – if you want to actually start over and not have the same issues as before, you need to get everything out in the open so it’s out of your head. Do you really want to be carrying around baggage from your last breakup? Because that doesn’t sound like a fresh start to me.”

Jungkook sighs. Junghwa is only telling him what he already knew, after all. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I do need to talk to him.” He falters. “Uh – Hwook? While we’re on the topic of getting things out in the open – I’m sorry about before. I shouldn’t have got so mad at you.”

Junghwa smiles gently. “It’s okay. I pushed you. And I guess I’m sorry too.”

“Wow,” Jungkook chuckles in surprise. “I didn’t think _you’d_ suck it up and apologise. You’ve _changed_.”

“Well, so have you,” she grins proudly. “Can you believe that we’re finally growing up?”

“I know,” Jungkook laughs – and just like that, things are back to normal again.

 

***

 

When Jungkook and Taehyung meet in the clearing in the park again a day later, Jungkook tells him about the conversation with Bambam.

“Shit, why didn’t you call me when it happened?” Taehyung asks worriedly when he’s finished relaying the story. “Are you okay?”

“I – I’m fine,” Jungkook says hesitantly. “I’ve been thinking about it, you know? About everything he said. And I think he’s right, about all of it.”

“He was mad,” Taehyung says comfortingly. “He was just trying to protect Yugyeom. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But I did,” Jungkook protests. “I did the exact same thing you did to me, which is so stupid because I know how much it can hurt someone.” He shakes his head tiredly. “I’m just as bad as you.”

Taehyung winces. “Ouch.”

“You know what I mean,” Jungkook sighs, taking hold of Taehyung’s hand. “And I guess – I get it now. I get how you can hurt someone like that without meaning to. Except – it was still different, because you were my Jungkook, and Yugyeom was… my Jennie – or _something_. He was more than that, obviously, since we’re friends, but – what?” he frowns when he sees Taehyung holding back a laugh.

“I was your Jungkook?” Taehyung smirks.

“You _know_ what I mean,” Jungkook repeats irritably.

“I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” Taehyung says gently.

“It’s not all bad, though,” Jungkook says cautiously. “It got me thinking. At the end he told me that he just needed to get it out so we could start on a clean slate… and I think maybe that’s what we need, too.” He looks at Taehyung hopefully.

“You want a clean slate?” Taehyung asks carefully, a little worried about what that implies.

Jungkook shakes his head. “Not exactly. But I think we should talk more. Be more open, and all that. I don’t want to hold a grudge for anything that happened before.”

Taehyung breathes out, relieved. “Yeah. We can definitely do that.”

So that night, in the clearing in the park, Jungkook tells Taehyung about how much it hurt him when Taehyung started ignoring him, and how much more it hurt when he saw him with Jennie. He tells Taehyung that, in that moment, he himself felt like a lost star, with a paper heart. And Taehyung’s own heart breaks as he listens, but that’s okay.

In response, Taehyung tells Jungkook about how, when he started pulling away from him, it felt like Jungkook didn’t do all that much to hold onto what they had. He just gave him the space he _thought_ Taehyung wanted, but that isn’t what Taehyung wanted at all. And Jungkook, although aware that none of it was his _fault_ , feels guilty all the same for how he made Taehyung think he didn’t care enough to hold on. Jungkook listens to how his date with Yugyeom made Taehyung feel like it was too late; he’d missed his chance and he shouldn’t interfere with Jungkook’s happiness any longer. If he had realised Jungkook still wanted him, he would have apologised sooner. But Taehyung apologises now, and Jungkook forgives him. And Jungkook’s heart sinks as he listens, but that’s okay.

After talking through it all, they feel freer; their hearts feel lighter; and even the air around them feels clearer. And maybe things are still a bit rocky between them, but that’s also okay, because they now know for certain that they _will_ be okay. And that’s enough.

 

***

 

On Saturday, the Pink Ladies go round Jimin’s house and have a much-needed catch-up.

“Jimin!” Jungkook grins when he enters the house; the first to arrive. “How have you been?” Maybe he’s been neglecting his best friend recently in favour of figuring out his romantic life, but he didn’t realise quite how much he missed Jimin’s company. Only now, when Jimin’s standing right in front of him, does Jungkook realise how bad he’s been at staying in contact.

“You need to talk to me more,” Jimin says with a big smile; a smile that’s covering up the insecurity he feels inside. They used to talk at school every day, but since Jimin left, the amount of time he’s spent talking with the Pink Ladies – especially Jungkook – has decreased exponentially.

Maybe, if Jungkook spoke to Jimin more regularly, he would catch on to Jimin’s obvious avoidance of the question. How _has_ he been? Jimin doesn’t know how to answer that without bringing down the mood; because he hasn’t been _bad_ , but he was definitely doing a lot better before he left for beauty school. A large part of him is convinced that leaving sixth form was a mistake.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy,” Jungkook says apologetically. It isn’t a lie, but it still feels like a cheap shot; like he’s saying ‘I’m too busy to talk to my best friend’ _._

“It’s okay; we can catch up now,” Jimin acquiesces. So they sit down on the sofa and catch each other up on their lives, with the other Pink Ladies joining in on the conversation as they arrive. The time flies by far too quickly and soon it’s time to leave, but Jimin promises that he’ll see them all again on Tuesday.

“Oh, wait,” Jimin says anxiously. “I guess I won’t see you until Saturday, Jungkook. Sorry, I forgot.”

“That’s okay,” Jungkook responds, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling he gets at everyone’s eyes on him. It’s embarrassing enough without Jimin drawing attention to the fact that he isn’t invited. “You guys don’t have to walk around on eggshells around me,” he sighs resignedly, before turning to Rosé. “It’s your party. You can invite who you want. I guess we’re not that close, anyway.” The statement comes across as more bitter than he intends it to.

Jisoo immediately shifts her attention to Rosé. “You _still_ haven’t told him?” she asks incredulously.

Rosé sighs frustratedly. “I just – never got _around_ to it,” she protests half-heartedly, before she turns to Jungkook. “Jungkook – you know the only reason I didn’t invite you is because I thought you wouldn’t want to go, right? And that if you were invited, you’d feel pressured to say yes. So – there you have it. Believe it or not, I do actually like you.”

Jungkook smiles despite her resigned tone of voice, instantly feeling a lot better. He should have guessed that a strange gesture like this was Rosé’s way of being thoughtful. “I accept your apology,” he says cheekily, well aware that she didn’t once say the words ‘I’m sorry’.

Rosé scowls but doesn’t argue back, which Jungkook assumes means that they’re on good terms again.

 

***

 

As it turns out, Jungkook sees Jimin much sooner than next Saturday. As soon as he gets home he realises that he must have left his jacket at Jimin’s house. It will be far too noticeable if he turns up on Monday without it on, and he doesn’t want to face the Pink Ladies’ questions about why he’s extricated himself from the group, or anything similarly ridiculous, so he decides to pop round Jimin’s house to pick it up on Sunday morning.

Perhaps he should have called first.

Jimin seems a bit on edge when Jungkook arrives, but Jungkook assumes that it’s just because he’s busy.

“Sorry to turn up unexpected,” he starts nervously, a bit surprised that Jimin isn’t happier to see him, “but I think I left my jacket here last night.”

“Oh,” Jimin says in realisation before stepping aside to let Jungkook in. “I was going to ask on the group chat today whose it was – you know they all look the same.”

Jungkook laughs. “Yeah, well. I didn’t want to turn up on Monday without it. You know how dramatic and presumptuous everyone is.”

Jimin nods distractedly before picking up the jacket and shoving it into Jungkook’s arms. “Right. Well, I’ll see you next Saturday.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “Is everything okay? You’re kind of – jumpy.”

Jimin shrugs. “Yeah, fine.”

It’s at that moment that Suga walks down the staircase, obliviously asking Jimin a question about the difference between permanent and temporary hair dyes. When he receives nothing but silence in response, he looks up and finds Jungkook’s shocked face staring right back at him.

Jungkook directs his bewildered stare at Jimin, who smiles awkwardly. “Um, so. You know Suga.”

Suga looks at them, frozen in place on the staircase. He doesn’t know how much Jimin has told Jungkook about their meeting up regularly, but going by the shock on Jungkook’s face, Suga’s guessing it can’t have been that much.

“I came round to collect my jacket,” Jungkook mumbles to Suga, unsure of why he feels like he needs an excuse for visiting Jimin.

“Oh, yeah, Jimin wondered whose that was,” Suga replies easily, and Jungkook stares at him some more.

Suga turns away, uncomfortable with the attention, and mumbles “I’m going upstairs. Later, Jungkook,” before disappearing.

Jungkook turns to Jimin. “What’s going on? Are you – a _thing_ now, or something?”

“No,” Jimin hisses, “and shut up.” He looks back at the empty staircase anxiously, before ushering Jungkook closer with a sigh. “Look, he’s just… been coming round quite a lot lately. We’re still just friends. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t want to have to explain _why_. It’s more to do with Suga than me, and I’m not going to spread his secrets, so…” He shrugs helplessly. “I should have said something, I guess. I don’t know. It didn’t feel right telling anyone.”

Jungkook does exactly what Jimin doesn’t expect – he _smiles_. A massive grin that seems out of place considering the conversation they’re having. “That’s okay. I get it, really. I just – remember this, okay? Remember how I understood. You don’t need to tell me anything like that if you don’t want; Suga’s secrets aren’t yours to tell.”

Jimin eyes him suspiciously. “Um, okay?” He shakes his head in wonder. “I thought you’d be a little more offended I didn’t tell you.”

Jungkook shrugs. “Well, I guess you got me wrong.” And, with a smile and a wave and his jacket over his shoulders, Jungkook leaves Jimin’s house.

 

***

 

Monday crawls by, as it is wont to do whenever you’re looking forward to something that’s happening later on in the week. But eventually, Tuesday comes along and classes finally end and then Taehyung is ringing on his doorbell, ready to pick him up for their date.

“Hey,” Taehyung smiles when Jungkook opens the front door. His black skinny jeans and t-shirt are hugging his figure and his makeup has been touched-up since the end of school. Needless to say, he looks stunning.

“Hi,” Jungkook grins back, feeling pleased that he isn’t the only one who’s made an effort. Junghwa’s suggestion to wear his tightest jeans and his most flattering red shirt doesn’t seem quite so silly anymore.

Jungkook closes the door behind him and reaches out to hold Taehyung’s hand, but Taehyung withdraws his hand, staring at Jungkook incredulously. “You want to hold hands this soon – on a _first date_?” He whistles. “Wow, you move fast.”

It’s Jungkook’s turn to stare. “Taehyung, please tell me you’re not being serious right now.”

“It’s our first date,” Taehyung responds happily. “I want to do things right.”

“So… you’re pretending we hardly know each other?” Jungkook asks, just to clarify. He doesn’t really know why he’s surprised, to be honest.

“Exactly,” Taehyung grins cheekily. “So, tell me, do you like pizza?”

“That’s your opening?” Jungkook asks disbelievingly. “Taehyung, you _know_ I like pizza.”

“It’s our first date,” Taehyung reiterates. “I don’t know anything about you at all. I especially _don’t know_ that you like pizza so much that you could eat it every day without getting bored of it.”

Jungkook’s gaze turns from mildly irritated to flattered in a heartbeat. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do,” Taehyung chirps. “Anyway, you haven’t answered the question.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes and replies, “Yes, I like pizza.”

“That’s lucky then,” Taehyung grins, “because I’ve booked us a table in a pizza restaurant. Does that sound good to you?”

“Sure,” Jungkook laughs, loving how much effort Taehyung must have put into the outing. “But… just in case you didn’t know, we have a few mutual friends,” he explains. “They’re all going out together tonight, so are you sure we won’t bump into any of them?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Taehyung says with a fond smile. He doesn’t know anyone else that would play along with his stupid game like this. “J-Hope told me they’re all having pre-drinks round his before they go out. The clubs don’t open till much later, anyway, so we won’t run into them while we’re out. I’ll be on the bus back home before they even leave his house.”

“So they’ve been at J-Hope’s since school ended? That’s a long time,” Jungkook frowns.

“Well it was just the T-Birds for a while; we’ve been working on the truck,” Taehyung explains. “The Pink Ladies had just arrived when I left.”

“What did you tell them?” Jungkook asks, anxiously hoping that he’s stopped using Jennie as an excuse.

“That I was going to hang out with someone more important than them,” he shrugs. “Whatever they choose to take from that is their decision.”

Jungkook smiles widely. “Good. That’s really good.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung smiles. “Now let’s get some pizza.”

 

***

 

The pizza restaurant is a good walk away, but the upside is that they don’t run into anyone they know. The pizza is just as good as Taehyung promises – and, true to his word, Taehyung pays for the meal, even though Jungkook tells him not to. “You can pay for us next time,” Taehyung offers as a compromise. “But I brought you here and I want to treat you. Let me do this.” He looks so excited by the prospect that Jungkook doesn’t have the heart to disagree.

Taehyung also pays for the cinema tickets – pre-booked so Jungkook can’t argue with him about it – but Jungkook gets his revenge by buying the largest size of popcorn available, which they share during the film. Their hands brush whenever they reach for the popcorn at the same time (it happens too regularly not to be deliberate, which Jungkook would realise if he stopped to think about it), but they don’t hold hands until a while later. Jungkook is holding the final few kernels of popcorn in his hand when Taehyung reaches over and uncurls Jungkook’s fingers… before stealing the popcorn right from his hands and popping them in his mouth.

Jungkook glares at Taehyung, offended, but then Taehyung smiles at him cheekily and takes hold of his hand for real, entwining their fingers, and Jungkook can’t help the grin that spreads across his face. He wants to lean over and kiss Taehyung, just to say thank you for such a great evening, but he decides against it in case anyone hears the sound and decides to look round. They’re sat on the back row, pretty much out of sight, but it isn’t worth the risk.

Instead, he silently rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder for the rest of the film. At the end, just before the credits roll and the lights come up, Taehyung presses a soft kiss to his hair and then pulls away. They stand up and exit the cinema together, with Jungkook listening to Taehyung gush about the film – which actually provides Jungkook with a rather useful plot summary for what they just watched, because he was much too distracted by Taehyung to pay any real attention to the screen.

“I had fun,” Jungkook says when they reach his front door. He doesn’t want to go inside yet.

“Me too,” Taehyung smiles. “We should do this again some time,” he adds with a cheesy wink.

Jungkook chuckles. “I’d like that.” He hesitates, unsure about the ‘end of date’ etiquette. Do the typical dating rules even apply to them anymore? “Did you want to come in?” he asks after a second.

Taehyung raises an eyebrow. “Inviting a guy into your house on the first date? I’m not sure that’s the kind of first impression you want to make,” he warns.

Jungkook laughs. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I should get home, actually,” Taehyung says apologetically. “I’ve got some drama coursework to finish off before tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Jungkook says, a little disappointed but not letting it show. “Maybe if – on Saturday, after Rosé’s party, you could stay over?” He then hesitates. Blushes. Decides to say it anyway. “I liked cuddling with you, before. I want to fall asleep like that again.”

Taehyung’s heart stutters at the admission. How is it possible for a human being to be _so cute_? But he forces himself to stay grounded. “Would your mum even let me stay in the same room as you?” he points out.

“She won’t be here,” Jungkook answers quickly. When Taehyung raises an eyebrow, Jungkook elaborates, “Mum and dad are away on Saturday night; that’s when they’re celebrating Valentine’s Day. They’re staying the night in London.” He fiddles with the hem of his shirt. “So, please come. They don’t need to know you’re staying over.”

“That feels a bit sneaky, lying to them like that,” Taehyung says apprehensively, but he can already feel his resolve crumbling.

“It’s not a lie,” Jungkook says petulantly. “It’s an omission of the truth.”

Taehyung laughs. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll come over.”

Jungkook grins. “I can’t believe I actually had to convince you. I thought you’d be as excited as me.”

“I am excited,” Taehyung chuckles. “But I don’t like the thought of you lying to your parents for me. I feel like I’m a bad influence on you.”

“Maybe,” Jungkook shrugs. “But I don’t mind.” He reaches out for Taehyung’s hands and Taehyung smiles apologetically.

“Jungkook, I’ve got to go.”

“Right now?” Jungkook says, disappointed.

“My bus leaves in 10 minutes,” Taehyung explains. “I’ll miss it otherwise. But I’ll see you after school tomorrow, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Jungkook smiles. “And on Saturday,” he adds quickly.

“And on Saturday,” Taehyung chuckles. He doesn’t know why he’s so reluctant to leave.

“But really – thank you for today,” Jungkook says honestly. “I had a great time.”

“So did I.”

Taehyung kisses Jungkook softly on the cheek before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... Jungkook now knows about Jimin and Suga. (whatever that is.) weird how similar their situations are lol
> 
> and jk and tae fiNALLY went on a proper date!! took them a while lmao
> 
> pls don't be shy if you want to leave a comment, I love seeing what you think of the plot and the characters and all that!
> 
> until next time :) thanks for reading!


	22. I sit and wonder why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosé's birthday party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE COMEBACK KILLED ME I AM WRITING THIS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE seriously Mic Drop is insanely catchy did someone say Mic BOP?!?!?! ok I'll stop 
> 
> for those of you waiting for more drama, here it is lol but maybe not in the form you expected
> 
> anyway, let's go ^^

“What are you doing tonight, V?” J-Hope asks as the T-Birds sit down for lunch. “I just realised we usually hang out together, but obviously I’m spending the evening with Rosé.”

“I’m just going home,” V responds noncommittally.

LE frowns. “On Valentine’s Day?” she says sceptically. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

V’s eyes widen ever so slightly, feigning surprise. “Oh, is that today? I didn’t realise.”

Hani frowns. “Wow. You’ve changed.”

Jisoo then sits down at the table far too dramatically and announces, “Who wants to swap dates with me?” At their questioning glances, she elaborates, “I’m not usually impressed by guys on dates, but this guy seems _particularly_ dull.”

“How would you know he’s dull before you’ve met him?” LE chuckles.

“I already went out with him once before,” Jisoo explains. “And I have to tell you now that he’s _particularly_ dull.”

“So why are you going out with him again?” Suga frowns.

“I can’t _not_ have a date on _Valentine’s_ Day,” she exclaims. “Anyway. Anyone wanna swap?” She looks round at them hopefully and Hani shrugs.

“Sure. I’m never lucky with dates anyway – might as well give someone else a chance.” The others continue discussing their plans, with Hani and Jisoo busy exchanging details of their respective dates when Jungkook walks over.

“What are you doing tonight?” J-Hope asks him.

Jungkook stares at J-Hope, frozen in place and looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Huh? Why?”

J-Hope shrugs. “I just wondered if you had anything special planned. We were talking about it already,” he explains.

Jungkook sits down carefully and continues to stare. “I’m just going home.”

“You too?” Jisoo asks, snapping back to attention and seeming almost disappointed by Jungkook’s response. “But it’s _Valentine’s Day_.”

Jungkook blinks once, twice, three times. Then, “I thought Valentine’s Day was in March.”

V snorts, then tries to play it off as a coughing fit.

“Please,” Suga scoffs. “There’s no way you actually thought that.”

“I… guess I’m just an idiot?” Jungkook shrugs, ignoring the blush rising to his cheeks as he pops some fries in his mouth, hoping that no one will try to question him further.

Luckily Rosé appears at that moment and, as usual, the attention shifts to her. She sits down, half beside J-Hope and half on his lap, before asking, “What are we talking about?”

LE rolls her eyes. “Jungkook is trying to convince us that he thought Valentine’s Day was in _March_ ,” she says scornfully.

Rosé raises an eyebrow. “Don’t be so fucking insensitive, LE. He’s probably still feeling sensitive about the breakup. Leave him alone.”

Jungkook looks at her in surprise. “Thanks, Rosé.”

Rosé shrugs. “Anytime. Anyway, what’s happening tomorrow? I need to know when you guys are coming over.”

So the conversation topic shifts to Rosé’s birthday plans and Taehyung and Jungkook are given a lucky escape.

 

***

 

When Taehyung arrives at the clearing in the park after school to see Jungkook already waiting for him, he walks over and kisses him immediately. “God, I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he mumbles straight after, before pulling Jungkook closer into a tight hug. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Kookie,” he murmurs in Jungkook’s ear.

Jungkook blushes. “You too.”

Taehyung grins. “But it’s not March.”

“Oh, shut up,” Jungkook says noncommittally.

Taehyung laughs, before kissing Jungkook again. After a minute of aimless kissing, he attempts to push the jacket off Jungkook’s shoulders as he runs his fingers down Jungkook’s arms. “Take this off,” he mumbles. “I don’t like it – it feels like branding.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow in amusement. “Branding?”

“It’s like we’re part of two rival gangs or something,” Taehyung continues as he slowly moves his hands down to Jungkook’s fingertips, then all the way back up again. “Like we’re Romeo and Juliet, with the world trying to force us apart.”

Jungkook chuckles at the analogy, but he lets Taehyung tug off the jacket all the same. “We’re not exactly rival gangs,” he points out as Taehyung also takes off his jacket and throws it on the grass. “It’s not unusual for a Pink Lady and a T-Bird to date. There’s Rosé and J-Hope, Jimin and Suga – hell, even you and Rosé.”

“Don’t,” Taehyung snorts, but Jungkook still smiles because he’s successfully lightened the mood.

“You’re so dramatic,” Jungkook comments, before pressing a light kiss to his lips.

“Still,” Taehyung insists. “I don’t like us being categorised like this. I don’t want to think of us as a T-Bird and a Pink Lady, you know? I like us when we’re just me and you.”

Jungkook kisses him again. “Yeah, I know.” He puts his hands on Taehyung’s hips, pulling him even closer. “But Taehyung… you can think of it however you want, but at the end of the day it’s just a jacket.”

Taehyung sighs, resting his head on Jungkook’s shoulder. “You know it’s more than that.”

Because for Taehyung, his jacket isn’t just an accessory – it’s an association with everything he’s supposed to be; and an association with everything he’s pretended to be for far too long. The lines may be starting to blur between his real self and his alter ego, but in Taehyung’s head, the T-Bird jacket still represents a lack of honesty. He doesn’t want to be a fake version of himself when he’s with Jungkook.

“Yeah, I know,” Jungkook repeats gently, holding him close.

“Ouch, Jungkook,” Taehyung hisses. “Your earring’s poking me in the face.”

Jungkook chuckles and pulls away. “Sorry.”

“Oh, that actually reminds me…” Taehyung reaches into his pocket. “I got you something.”

He holds out a small jewellery box and Jungkook stares at him in horror.

“Relax, Jungkook; it’s not a ring,” Taehyung chuckles. He shyly passes the box to Jungkook and nudges him with his foot when Jungkook doesn’t make any move to look inside. “Open it.”

Jungkook carefully opens up the box and pulls out a pair of earrings – sparkling studs that look like they must be real silver.

“Do you like them?” Taehyung asks anxiously.

“They’re beautiful,” Jungkook breathes. But then his head snaps up and he stares at Taehyung in panic. “I didn’t get you anything. I didn’t even _think_ about it, oh my God.”

“It’s fine,” Taehyung laughs. “I didn’t really get it for Valentine’s Day, anyway. That was just a happy coincidence. I remember you saying on Tuesday how you wished you had another pair of earrings so that you’d have more choice, and now you do. And I also kind of really like the idea of you wearing something I’ve given you,” he admits bashfully.

Jungkook grins. “I like that idea too.” He closes the box and puts it away in his pocket, trying to contain his smile, although it keeps breaking free again. “Really, Tae, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Taehyung grins back – and for just a second, he looks as carefree as he always did at the beach. Jungkook is quickly learning that happy Taehyung is little more than a fleeting illusion, but at least for now, Taehyung is happy, and Taehyung is his.

“So, what were you up to this time last year on Valentine’s Day?” Taehyung asks him conversationally as he takes Jungkook’s hands in his and swings them back and forth. “I want to know what I need to live up to.”

Jungkook laughs. “Nothing, really. Just sitting at home all alone and wondering whether I would ever find something like _this_.” He blushes at the admission, not having intended to say it out loud, but it only makes Taehyung smile even harder.

And if Jungkook were to stop and think about it, he would realise that maybe he could spend forever this way – with Taehyung beside him, simply happy being his.

 

***

 

“Hey, I’m so glad you made it!” Rosé says with a bright grin when Jungkook walks inside.

“Oh, uh, me too,” Jungkook replies, a little thrown off by her kindness.

He’s even more thrown off when she pulls him into a hug.

“I hope there isn’t any awkwardness over the issue from Tuesday,” she continues as she ushers him through to the living room where the other Pink Ladies are sat drinking and chatting together; the music a low hum in the background. “It might seem difficult to believe, but I actually wasn’t trying to upset you.”

Jungkook stares at her, a little taken aback by her honesty. “Have you started drinking already?”

Rosé laughs. “Only a little.”

“Hey, Jungkook!” Jisoo says excitedly when she spots him hovering in the doorway. She runs over and hugs him enthusiastically, almost spilling her drink in the process.

“Hi,” Jungkook grimaces, trying to ignore the stench of alcohol on her breath. “The party’s in full swing then?”

“Something like that,” Jisoo hiccups. “Come on over and join in! Jimin has been so excited for you to arrive!”

Jungkook looks at Rosé warily. “I swear I’m not late. Did you tell the others to get here early or something?”

“Only Jin, because he was helping me out with the snacks,” Rosé shrugs helplessly. “The others just decided to come early anyway. Jimin said he missed me and wanted to catch up before the party started, and he was giving Jisoo a lift, so she turned up too. It was a little awkward because I wasn’t ready yet, but Jimin did my makeup and Jisoo chose my outfit so it all worked out pretty well.”

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, definitely. I mean, you look great.”

Rosé grins proudly. “I do, don’t I? Now come on, don’t you want the first pick of fizzy drinks before the others turn up and waste it by mixing it with alcohol?”

Jungkook chuckles. “That sounds like a good plan.” He doesn’t know whether Rosé is merely happy because it’s her birthday, or whether she still feels guilty about the clubbing misunderstanding, but either way he likes the newly talkative and considerate version of her.

Jimin is the next to walk over and greet him. “Kook, I’ve missed you,” he exclaims, before pulling Jungkook into a hug (this one more consensual than the previous two).

Jungkook decides not to comment on how they only saw each other last week. Instead he suggests, “Maybe we could meet up again, just us, now that it’s half term.”

Jimin pulls back and stares at him hard. “Are those new earrings?” he asks, although it feels more like an accusation.

“Yeah, they are,” Jungkook smiles. He’s already prepared an excuse. “My mum got them for me. I think she felt bad that I didn’t have a Valentine. Told me that _she_ would always love me, or some sentimental shit like that.” Telling such a blatant lie doesn’t make him feel as guilty as it perhaps should.

“Well, they’re cute,” Jimin shrugs. “You still have to wear the other ones sometimes, though. I spent money on those.”

“I never asked you to,” Jungkook points out. It wasn’t exactly his idea to have his ears pierced in the first place. “But yeah, I’ll still wear them. It’s just nice to have options.”

When the T-Birds show up, LE also notices Jungkook’s new earrings and compliments them. V tries to hide his proud smile by quickly downing a shot of vodka.

And so the night goes on.

 

***

 

A little while later, everybody is drunk. (Except Jungkook, obviously.)

Theoretically, this would be fine – except for the fact that V and Rosé should probably never be left to have a conversation on their own, without any of their friends to step in if necessary. Especially when they’re both wasted and lacking more of a filter than usual.

It starts stupidly, with V feeling bored and the glass in his hands empty. The alcohol he brought with him has run out and Rosé won’t let him have any more.

“You’ve had enough,” she says firmly as Jungkook excuses himself to go to the toilet. And with that, their conversation monitor is gone.

“It’s a _party_ ,” V whines pitifully. He knows he’s being annoying, but he figures it doesn’t matter. He wants _alcohol._

“Then you should’ve brought more. I’m not paying for your bad habit,” she shrugs. She’s been trying to ignore him this evening, but that’s substantially more difficult to do when he’s actively engaging her in conversation – and even more difficult when she can’t ignore him in favour of chatting to Jungkook.

Come to think of it, God knows why Jungkook has spent so much of the night sitting near V. Rosé would be sick of him by now.

She _is_ sick of him by now.

“You’re so mean,” V pouts.

“You’re so _annoying_. Why did I even invite you?” Rosé mutters with a roll of her eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re trying to make up for last year?” V grins.

Rosé glances at him. “That isn’t funny.”

“Well you wanted me here then, didn’t you?” he continues with a laugh. “I’m a year late, but at least I stuck around for your birthday this time.”

Rosé’s eyes narrow. “Shut the fuck up.”

V grins at her. “I’m just making conversation.”

“No you’re not.” Rosé knows she has a bit of a hot temper, but is it really too much to ask for V to be nice to her for just _one_ day of the year?

“Who the fuck cares?” V responds thoughtlessly. “I want more alcohol. And you should really keep your guests happy. You don’t really want this party to be as shit as last year’s, do you?”

Rosé raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? You weren’t even there.”

“Exactly,” V laughs. “And that’s just as well, isn’t it? Who wants to hang around a birthday girl who can’t stop crying because her boyfriend dumped her?”

“You managed to ruin my last birthday for me,” Rosé hisses at him, trying to restrain her anger. “I’m not letting you ruin this one too.”

V stares at her, realising far too late that he’s stepped over the line. He quickly unlocks his phone and sends a text Jungkook.

**sOS. come bakc nowww pls**

“I didn’t ruin your birthday,” V laughs nervously as he looks up from his phone, trying to dispel the tension. “I ruined the day _before_ your birthday. It’s different.”

Rosé stares at him. “You’re a dick, you know that? You think it took me a few _hours_ to get over you? You think that, after dating for six months and then that massive fight we had, I moved on from it all in less than a _day_?”

“Come on, it wasn’t _that_ bad,” V continues hesitantly, aware that Rosé’s voice is starting to rise above the music and J-Hope is already looking their way.

“It wasn’t _that bad_?” Rosé repeats incredulously. “Were you even _there_? Or have you just treated so many people like dirt that this breakup paled in comparison?”

“It was a breakup. It can’t ever be _good_ , right?” V’s walking a thin line here and he knows it. He can see J-Hope walking over to see what’s going on, and Jimin and Jisoo are now looking their way as well.

“Fucking _hell_ , V,” she scoffs. “Sure, breakups are never good, but do you really still think you were _right_ to say everything you said?”

V raises an eyebrow. “You told me you didn’t understand why I was breaking up with you. So, I explained. What’s wrong with that?” His goal is to downplay the situation so that Rosé won’t make a big deal out of it, but it has the opposite effect.

“I didn’t _ask_ for a ten minute speech on all the reasons I’m a shitty person,” she snaps, raising her voice again. “And if I was _that_ awful, why did you even date me in the first place?”

Without thinking it through, V responds, “I’ve got to tell you, I’m wishing I didn’t.”

J-Hope steps between them, his face expressionless. “V, I think you should leave.”

V rolls his eyes. “Oh my God, stay out of this. Can you both stop being so dramatic? You weren’t _there_. You’ve only heard one side of the story.” He doesn’t even care that the room is now silent, with everyone’s attention of him and Rosé. He just wants everyone to _leave him alone._ And where the _fuck_ is Jungkook with his SOS escape route?

 

***

 

Jungkook walks into the living room, phone in hand, and understands immediately why V needed help. Because he and Rosé are now having a full-on shouting match, with J-Hope standing awkwardly in-between and trying to calm both of them down. The others in the room are mutely staring at them and the pop music playing in the background feels horribly out of place.

Jungkook takes a deep breath as he desperately tries to think of something to say on the spot (which isn’t exactly a talent of his). He only needs something to divert the attention.

“I –” he begins confidently, before cutting himself off, unsure of how to continue the sentence. The others aren’t paying any attention to him, anyway. Shit, why’s it so hard to think of something to say?

Could he have seen something while he was in the bathroom, maybe? Noticed a burglar coming in through the window? Seen a rare bird? What would be strange enough to make people listen, but believable enough that it isn’t suspicious?

Confidently, he opens his mouth and announces, “I wet myself.”

V and Rosé stop their arguing to stare at him.

Well, at least it worked, Jungkook thinks to himself as he feels his face turn red from embarrassment.

Rosé looks at him in barely-veiled disgust, whereas V stares at him in incredulity. Jungkook can see the message portrayed through his gaze: _not helping._

“Uh – I can lend you some spare clothes, if you want?” J-Hope says kindly.

Jungkook shakes his head rapidly. “Uh, no – that’s okay. I just… wanted to share.”

There’s a stunned silence.

Then the arguing recommences.

“Why the _fuck_ did you start this?” Rosé snaps, beyond frustrated. “Why _now_? Are you determined to ruin every birthday I ever _have_?”

“Jesus Christ, calm the fuck down,” V sighs, exasperated. “I was making a _joke_. Go back to your party.”

“Gladly,” Rosé snaps. “But not until you get out of my house.”

V stares at her for a moment, but suddenly the extent of what’s happened tonight hits him and he finds himself nodding.

He picks up his rucksack that he left in the corner of the room and walks out without another word.

 

***

After V leaves, Suga turns up the music to full volume as Hoseok and Rosé escape to her bedroom.

Once the door is closed behind them, Hoseok asks hesitantly, “You’re not still into him, are you?”

“What?” Rosé snaps. “ _No._ I just –” She shakes her head tiredly. “You’ll think this is stupid, I know. But I remember back when V and I were together, I thought things were going really well between us – and then suddenly it was all over and it was such a _shock_.” She looks up at her boyfriend nervously, wishing that she was sober enough to stop the next few sentences from coming out of her mouth. “I like you. A lot. And I’m so scared the same thing’s going to happen again. That you’ll leave me, out of nowhere, and I won’t even understand why.” She exhales shakily as she wraps her arms around J-Hope’s waist, burying her face in his shirt. It’s party to hide her vulnerable expression from him, and partly because she needs the comfort.

 “I’m not him,” Hoseok says gently, putting his arms around her.

“I know you’re not,” Rosé huffs. “And I know it’s unfair of me to carry baggage over from my last relationship – just like I know I’m hot-tempered and inconsiderate and selfish and I – I _know_ that,” she continues defeatedly. “I know I’m a nightmare to be with. But I’m not ready for this to be over yet. I’m not ready for us to be over.”

“Neither am I,” Hoseok reassures her, gently kissing her on the forehead. “We’re not over; not now, not for a long time. I don’t want this to end, either.”

“Why?” Rosé laughs sadly.

“You might be a nightmare sometimes,” Hoseok admits, “but you’re _my_ nightmare. And somehow it makes me feel special, knowing that as difficult as it is to make you happy, somehow I manage it. And I care about you, too. A _lot_.”

“Why?” Rosé mumbles again.

Hoseok smiles gently. “Because I love you.”

Rosé’s eyes widen. “Oh.” She doesn’t think that even makes sense as a _reason_ – if anything, it poses more questions than answers. But then she looks at Hoseok, the most beautiful human being in the world who somehow _loves_ her, and finds that it doesn’t really matter.

“Yeah,” Hoseok chuckles.

“Why?” Rosé repeats petulantly.

“Because,” Hoseok says patiently, “you always speak your mind, even if it’s sometimes painful to hear the truth. And then I always know where I stand, and I always know when to apologise for something I’ve done wrong. You listen to me talk about things I know you have no interest in, just because it makes _me_ happy, and that’s pretty cool. And… fuck, I want this to be all romantic and shit, but I can’t think of anything else on the spot right now. Did I mention that you’re beautiful? There’s that too. You should’ve given me time to make a list. My head is all fuzzy.”

Rosé chuckles and kisses him on the cheek. “You don’t need a list. ‘Romantic and shit’ isn’t really my style, anyway.”

“I know. But I think it’s about time you knew how I felt about you,” Hoseok mumbles.

Rosé looks at him with a shy smile. “You know I do too, right? Love you, I mean.”

Hoseok grins. “I had a feeling. But it’s good to hear you say it.”

And when they re-join the party, their friends realise they didn’t need to wait apprehensively to see whether things were okay, because Rosé enters the room with a dramatic “He _loves_ me” – and any drama from earlier in the night is forgotten.

It takes another fifteen minutes before Jungkook excuses himself from the party, mumbling that he’s tired and needs to get home to bed. It’s a weak excuse, especially because the party is supposed to end at 11pm anyway and sometimes Jungkook stays up until 2am because he’s on Tumblr, so there’s no way he already feels tired at 10:30pm, but the others don’t know that. So he wishes Rosé a happy birthday one last time and then runs home, hoping that Taehyung hasn’t frozen outside while waiting to be let into the house.

 

***

 

“I feel sick,” Taehyung mumbles as Jungkook lets him inside.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Do you need a bucket?”

Taehyung smiles despite himself. “No, not like that. I feel sick in _myself_.” He sighs. “I don’t want to be drunk anymore. It’s not fun like this.”

“I’ll get you some water,” Jungkook promises.

After a while of watching the TV together, Taehyung curled up in Jungkook’s lap and sipping on his glass of water with a straw, Taehyung turns to him decisively. “I feel awful about what happened tonight.”

Jungkook notices how much more sober he sounds and immediately turns off the TV. “Don’t blame yourself,” he says consolingly. “It’s not your fault she took it the wrong way.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “You didn’t even hear what happened.”

“I’m just trying to stick up for you,” Jungkook says gently.

“Well don’t,” Taehyung grumbles.

“Rosé means well, but she’s also bitter and insensitive and harsh. There’s nothing you can do about that,” Jungkook says comfortingly.

Taehyung shakes his head sadly. “I wish you wouldn’t see her like that.”

Jungkook looks at him in surprise. “What do you mean? You must notice how rude she is.”

“She wasn’t always like that,” Taehyung insists.

“The Pink Ladies say she’s always been rude,” Jungkook argues.

“I mean, yeah, she’s always been rude, but it was a funny rude. A cute rude. Like, an ‘I don’t really mean it’ type rude,” Taehyung explains. “She didn’t used to be so snappy, so closed off.”

“What happened?” Jungkook asks curiously.

“I did,” Taehyung says, looking away from Jungkook. Jungkook puts his hand on Taehyung’s chin, guiding his face so that they’re looking directly at each other. There’s something very guilty about Taehyung’s expression and Jungkook gulps.

“What did you do?” he asks gently.

“I broke up with her,” Taehyung admits.

Jungkook sighs. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

“But I do,” Taehyung insists. “It wasn’t just the breakup. I… She didn’t take it well and I found myself saying things I didn’t really mean, just to get her off my case, you know?” He sighs, frustrated. “I never meant to hurt her like that. Did you know we used to be really close friends? We got on so well.” He laughs humourlessly. “Hard to see it now. But things were good between us. And that’s why I thought that maybe it would work out – that maybe the problem with the other girls was that I didn’t care about them enough. But I cared about Ro too much, and I didn’t want to hurt her by breaking things off, so instead I just hurt her more by dragging things out.” He rolls his eyes at himself. “I thought the problem was with the other girls, when suddenly I realised that the problem was with me.” He turns to Jungkook suddenly, shifting on the sofa. “Did you know that I broke up with her the day before her birthday?”

Jungkook cowers slightly under Taehyung’s intense gaze. “Rosé may have mentioned it.”

Taehyung slumps in his seat, visibly deflating. “It was her 16th. I left it too long but I didn’t know what else to do.”

Jungkook looks at him sympathetically. “Because she was turning 16?” he asks softly.

“I knew that she wanted to have sex,” Taehyung admits. He cringes at the thought. “I convinced her I didn’t want to do it before her birthday: it wasn’t right. And I thought that anyway, but that obviously wasn’t the whole reason.” He closes his eyes, in pain at the memory. “I thought I loved her, you know. But I just… I couldn’t make myself want her like that, and I tried to ignore why but I always _knew_.” He looks at Jungkook, pleading for him to understand. “I didn’t feel how I was _supposed_ to feel and that terrified me, because I had something so good, with someone so great, and I was _wasting_ it.”

“You couldn’t help it,” Jungkook reassures him. “You can’t help not being attracted to her like that.”

“But I hated myself for it Jungkook,” he says, clutching Jungkook’s hands desperately, in an attempt to stay sane. He already lost one of his best friends because of a failed relationship and he doesn’t think he’d be able to cope with that happening again.

Sometimes it’s hard for Taehyung to remember that Jungkook is still here, standing faithfully by his side. Taehyung doesn’t understand why Jungkook continues to stay, but holding his hand keeps him grounded in that reality.

Taehyung squeezes a little tighter. “Fuck, I hated myself. And then I fucked her over and now she hates me too.”

“She doesn’t know,” Jungkook whispers, squeezing Taehyung’s hands gently to let him know that he’s holding on too tight. Taehyung bites his lip guiltily and releases some of the pressure on Jungkook’s hands.

“It doesn’t matter,” Taehyung responds quietly. “I broke her and I’m going to have to deal with it.” He smiles at Jungkook; a small, broken smile that Jungkook wishes would disappear because it looks so out of place on his usually cheerful face.

“Of course it matters,” Jungkook insists. “If she just knew…”

“How could I tell her now?” Taehyung asks, his face crestfallen. “She already feels stupid enough for falling for me in the first place.”

Jungkook almost laughs. “She can’t feel stupid for not knowing you were gay. From the sounds of it, _you_ didn’t even know.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he repeats. “It’s done now.”

“Okay,” Jungkook agrees, letting it go for the time being. At least now that Taehyung has got this off his chest, maybe he can start to accept what happened and forgive himself for it. “You’re right; it’s done now,” Jungkook says reassuringly. He brings Taehyung’s hands, still holding tightly onto his own, to his lips and kisses them gently. “Shall we head upstairs? You look like you could use some rest.”

Taehyung frowns and stares unseeingly at the wall in front of them. “It doesn’t feel right just going to sleep after talking about this. After what happened tonight, she’s probably still upset – shit, what do I do?” He turns to Jungkook worriedly, but Jungkook merely cracks a small smile.

“Hey, she’s with J-Hope right now. And he _loves_ her,” he says emphatically, recalling Rosé’s delighted smile as she announced it to her friends. (Taehyung tries to ignore the flutter in his heart when Jungkook says the word ‘love’.) “She won’t even be thinking about you.”

Taehyung smiles back at Jungkook – his lips are only slightly turned up at the corners, but it’s the most genuine smile Jungkook has seen from him all evening. “I guess you’re right,” Taehyung acquiesces. “He’s a much better fit for her than I ever was, anyway.” Jungkook raises his eyebrows and Taehyung rolls his eyes. “And not _just_ because I’m gay,” he laughs.

Jungkook laughs too.

And if Taehyung holds him a little bit closer that night, the worry about someone so important disappearing from him again too much to ignore, Jungkook doesn’t say a word about it. Instead, Jungkook simply cards his fingers through Taehyung’s hair, kisses his forehead tenderly and whispers “it’s okay” until Taehyung falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s. the age of consent in England is 16, in case anyone was confused by that
> 
> this is the shortest chapter I've done for a while lol anyway hope you enjoyed!! a bit more insight into V and Rosé's relationship/breakup and why she's so salty about it haha
> 
> thanks for reading! :)))


	23. now your bangs are curled, your lashes twirled, but still the world is cruel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J-Hope’s birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the chapter title is super long for this one but I thought it was fitting lol
> 
> btw this chapter starts the morning after Rosé's party. hope you enjoy!

“Why are you moving about so much?” Jungkook grumbles as soon as he’s awake enough to string together a coherent sentence. His arm is around Taehyung’s waist as they lie in bed together, with Taehyung’s back pressed against his chest, but it feels like Taehyung is either trying to shift position or _leave._ Which would be completely rude and unacceptable – especially if he’s trying to do it while Jungkook is still asleep.

“Oh – sorry,” Taehyung says softly, settling back into Jungkook’s arms, who sighs happily at the feeling. “I was trying not to wake you.”

Jungkook’s eyes snap open. “Were you leaving?” he accuses.

“No,” Taehyung laughs. “I was coming back. I’ve already been up for an hour.”

Jungkook pulls Taehyung closer towards him. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You’re a pretty heavy sleeper,” Taehyung replies. Jungkook can hear the smile in his voice. “You also looked like you needed the rest. Anyway, I stayed in bed for a bit, but eventually I needed to get up and shower. Wash off everything that happened last night, you know?”

Jungkook chuckles at the metaphor. “Sure. Did you bring spare clothes and shower stuff with you, then?”

Taehyung stiffens slightly. “I did originally, but then I unpacked most of it to fit in more alcohol… so I used your shampoo and stuff. That’s okay, right? I found a spare towel, so don’t worry about that, but I _may_ be wearing one of your shirts.”

“You went through my things?” Jungkook asks in surprise, wishing that he could see Taehyung’s expression. He sounds kind of embarrassed.

“Um – sorry?”

Jungkook chuckles. “It’s okay,” he says, tightening his hold around Taehyung’s waist to let him know that it really _is_ okay. More than okay, in fact. Something about Taehyung wearing his clothes makes this feel so much more _real._ “Where did you put your shirt?” he asks. “We should make sure you don’t forget it so my parents don’t find it lying around.”

Taehyung feels a fresh wave of guilt at how Jungkook is lying to his parents for him – but for once he knows it wasn’t his idea. “I actually put it in the wash – I hope that’s okay. It smelt like alcohol. And death. It was pretty gross. It’s in there with the towel and a couple of other things.”

“What other things? I don’t remember leaving anything in the washing pile,” Jungkook says with a frown.

“No, I mean my other things,” Taehyung explains. “You know. My socks. Underwear.”

Jungkook freezes. “Your – underwear? I thought you said you didn’t bring any spare clothes with you,” he says slowly.

“Yeah, so I just put on a pair of yours. That’s cool with you, right?”

Jungkook coughs nervously as he tries to think of a suitable response, because _what the fuck._

Taehyung falters. “Does that make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean –”

“I – um – no, i-it’s okay,” Jungkook stutters awkwardly as he feels his blood rushing south. _Shit,_ he’s usually good at controlling himself around Taehyung, but something like _this_ has never happened before. And how on earth could Taehyung think that borrowing his _underwear_ would have no effect on Jungkook?

Taehyung winces, mistaking Jungkook’s embarrassment for unease. “If it makes you feel weird, I can take them off,” he offers.

Jungkook’s face flushes bright red, and for the first time he’s glad that they’re not facing each other. “ _Tae._ ”

“Oh – right,” Taehyung says in realisation as the implication of his words hits him. “Sorry. That’s worse.”

“I just – _um_ , can you give me a minute? Please?” Jungkook says, almost begging. He suddenly feels painfully aware of how closely their bodies are pressed together and it’s making it difficult for him to concentrate.

Taehyung frowns as he feels Jungkook shift away from him. He tries to turn around to see what the problem is, but Jungkook panics and pushes him out of the bed – a little forcefully, although it isn’t deliberate.

“Are you okay?” Taehyung asks worriedly.

“ _Fine,_ ” he bites back. Then, a little more calmly, “I’ll meet you downstairs. I just need to get up and shower and stuff too.”

“Okay,” Taehyung says apprehensively. “But please tell me if something’s wrong. We promised we’d talk about stuff like this.”

Jungkook grimaces. “Nothing’s wrong,” he replies, because they never promised they’d talk about stuff like _this._ “I just need to wake up a bit.”

“Okay,” Taehyung repeats carefully before grabbing some tracksuit bottoms from Jungkook’s wardrobe and walking out of the room.

Once Taehyung has left, Jungkook waddles to the bathroom and curses himself for being so weak for Taehyung dressed in his clothes.

 

***

 

“Hey, Kookie?” Taehyung says a little while later, just as Jungkook is about to open the front door to let him out. His parents are due back in an hour.

“Yeah?” Jungkook frowns, wondering why Taehyung now sounds so serious.

“Thanks for last night,” he says a little apprehensively. “For talking everything over with me. Being so great about it.”

Jungkook smiles gently. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

Taehyung grimaces. “I thought you’d be put off me once you realised how much of a prick I am.”

Jungkook snorts. “Don’t be stupid. I already knew you were a prick.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Thanks.”

Jungkook takes Taehyung’s hand in his and threads their fingers together, hoping that it will soften the blow of what he’s about to say. “I know you didn’t mean to start a fight with Rosé last night, but you should still apologise. She deserves that much.”

Taehyung sighs. “Even if I tell her I’m sorry, she won’t believe me.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Jungkook insists. “You still have to say it. _You_ know you mean it, and that’s the most important thing.”

Taehyung bites his lip. “What if it starts another argument?”

“At least you’d know it wasn’t your fault this time,” Jungkook says with a small smile.

Taehyung smiles back. “I guess.”

“I’ll see you Tuesday, yeah?” Jungkook asks, just to confirm.

“Hardly,” Taehyung scoffs, because Tuesday is J-Hope’s birthday celebration and they both know they won’t have a chance to speak to each other all that much. “But yeah. What did you get him, by the way?”

“Just some chocolate,” Jungkook admits sheepishly. “I thought about going with one of the things you suggested, but then I realised I don’t know him that well and it might be a bit suspicious if I ‘accidentally’ got him something he really wanted.”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow, impressed. “Wow. You’ve thought this through.”

Jungkook laughs. “It’s _method._ That’s what you call it in drama, right?”

Taehyung snorts. “Not exactly. But sure, if you want. Anyway, what are your plans for the rest of next week?”

“Studying,” Jungkook sighs.

“They’re just mocks,” Taehyung points out.

“They’re exams I want to do well in,” Jungkook corrects. “Just because you don’t think they’re important doesn’t mean I feel the same.”

Taehyung smiles. “It’s cute that you’re so studious.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Not _everything_ about me is cute.”

“I respectfully disagree,” Taehyung grins, before kissing Jungkook on the cheek. “I’d better go.”

Jungkook frowns and grabs his hands, pulling him closer. “That wasn’t a goodbye kiss. Kiss me properly.”

Taehyung hesitates. “But that will make it so much harder to leave.”

Jungkook leans closer and kisses him gently on the lips, lingering a little before he pulls back. “See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He sounds uncertain.

“Your parents will be back soon,” Taehyung points out, but he doesn’t make any move to leave.

In the end, Taehyung stays for a little while longer, and he sneaks out through the back window when they hear Jungkook’s parents arriving home.

 

***

 

“Thanks for keeping the café open for me, LE,” J-Hope says gratefully on Tuesday evening when he arrives with Hani to help set up the balloons and whatnot. (He would have been perfectly happy without balloons, but he supposes that’s what happens when you leave Hani in charge of decorations.)

“No problem,” LE shrugs. “The managers were fine with it as long as I agreed to lock up once we were done.”

“When will everyone else be gone?” Hani asks, looking around distastefully at all the other customers.

“We usually lock up around 9,” LE explains as she leads them to their table. “If people come for dinner that’s usually at 7ish, so around now. It should get quieter around 8.”

“You have much knowledge,” Hani says approvingly as she ties five balloons together and then strings them to the chair in the middle of the table. “This is your chair, J-Hope,” she says proudly, pleased with her creation.

“Thanks, Hani,” J-Hope says indulgently.

“No problem!” she says happily.

“I still don’t understand why we didn’t just come here after all the customers had gone,” J-Hope admits once LE has disappeared to serve a new table.

“Because then the chefs would be gone too, you twit,” Hani replies cheerfully. “And all your guests would starve. Some birthday celebration that would be. Anyway, they others will be here in fifteen minutes or so. Can you help me with the glitter?”

“The glitter?” J-Hope repeats, puzzled.

“Yep!” Hani chirps, before getting out a pack of golden glitter dust and sprinkling it across the table.

J-Hope decides not to question it.

When V arrives, the first thing he does is look at the table and comment, “Sparkly.”

J-Hope scowls. “Hani brought glitter. Fuck off.”

V laughs. “Why did you let her decorate, anyway?”

“It was the only way to make sure she wouldn’t be late,” J-Hope argues.

“Hey!” Hani squeaks. “Don’t be mean. I made sure to put lots more green glitter on your place setting than anywhere else, because I know it’s your favourite colour. And this is how you repay me?”

V raises his eyebrows at Hani’s response and mumbles “Good luck” to J-Hope as he sits down next to him.

Soon afterwards, Rosé arrives and both J-Hope and V stand up to greet her.

“Happy birthday,” Rosé greets her boyfriend with a smile, before directing V with a scowl. “What do you want?”

“I want to apologise,” V says.

Rosé raises an eyebrow at J-Hope, who shrugs helplessly. “I didn’t tell him to.”

Rosé turns back to V, eyebrow still raised, and challenges, “Go on then.”

“Okay,” V says, wondering whether it can possibly be that easy. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t _mean_ that,” she accuses.

“I do,” V insists.

“You don’t even know why you’re sorry,” she argues.

“I do,” V repeats.

“Why, then?” She says it triumphantly, as if she’s won. (V wasn’t aware that they were having a competition.)

“Because I was really rude to you and I ruined your birthday. Twice,” he explains. “I didn’t – I mean,” he chuckles nervously. He can’t exactly say he didn’t mean to break up with her, but – “I didn’t mean to start a fight with you on Saturday. Or to try and justify the breakup, or whatever. I know I was horrible to you. I’m sorry.”

Rosé stares at him, dumbfounded. And after a second she says, “Okay.”

Then she sits down in the chair next to J-Hope.

“I was sitting there,” V says on instinct.

Rosé glares at him.

“I’ll move,” V acquiesces with a roll of his eyes, before sitting down on J-Hope’s other side.

Soon after, the others start filtering in. Jimin turns up wearing a beanie that covers almost his whole head, but when Hani asks if he’s going to take it off, Jimin snaps that “It’s _fashion_ ,” so she leaves him alone. They all expect Suga to be the last to arrive because he’s coming straight from his afternoon shift at work, but in the end even Suga is sat down waiting by the time Jisoo and Jungkook show up.

“Sorry we’re late; we ran into Bambam and Lisa on the way here,” Jungkook explains as they approach the table.

“That’s okay,” J-Hope says brightly, laughing as Rosé mumbles in his ear, “That’s Jisoo’s crush.”

“Lisa is _so_ nice,” Jisoo says to Jungkook as they sit down on the end of the table. “We should talk to her more.”

“Okay,” Jungkook chuckles, wondering to himself when Jisoo will realise that she looks at Lisa the same way that he looks at Taehyung.

“Are you guys ready to order?” Hani asks excitedly. “I’m _hungry_. LE, hurry up!” she calls across the café. “We want food!”

“You’re disturbing the customers,” LE mutters as she walks over.

Jungkook stares at the menu in panic, because he hasn’t had a chance to check the menu yet, but then he feels his phone buzz in his pocket and sees a new text from Taehyung.

**they have jacket potatoes with tuna and cheese – you were craving tuna earlier, right?**

Then, two seconds later:

**they have tuna melt paninis too**

Jungkook smiles to himself as he remembers how many texts he sent Taehyung today. (He picked up his phone every time he got bored of revision.) Taehyung refused to reply, just in case he distracted Jungkook, but he clearly still read all of the messages, no matter how boring they were.

V is too far away from Jungkook to hear what he orders, but when he sees the tuna and cheese jacket potato arrive at their table, he smiles to himself. And when Hani asks what’s made him so happy, he pretends that it’s just because it’s J-Hope’s birthday.

 

***

 

At around 11pm, LE finally convinces the others that it’s time to leave. “It’s alright for you; you don’t have to work tomorrow,” she grumbles as she forces Hani out of her seat.

“Jeez, okay,” Hani says as she stands up. “Calm down, would you?”

“Nope,” she responds unapologetically. “Out. I’m going to clean up the kitchen and by the time I’m back, I expect everyone gone.”

Even though as her best friends they all know that LE is harmless, they’re no less scared by the threatening tone of her voice, so they quickly say their goodbyes and give J-Hope their final birthday wishes before hurrying out of the café. It’s only Jimin that stays sat in his seat, and Suga that hesitates in the doorway.

“Jimin – are you coming?” he says, a little concerned as the last of their friends disappear down the street. Then, just in case he sounds too serious, he adds on with a wry smile, “LE will kill you if you stay here, you know.”

“I know,” Jimin replies. He doesn’t move.

Yoongi frowns. “What’s wrong?” he asks, walking back over to the glittery table and sitting down next to Jimin.

“You know how I was going to dye my hair on Sunday, after Rosé’s party?” Jimin begins anxiously.

“You didn’t use the permanent dye by accident, did you?” Yoongi asks in panic. “I _told_ you to be careful.”

“No, I didn’t,” Jimin replies, “but that’s the only sliver of hope I’m holding onto.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Okay, what did you do?” he asks resignedly.

Jimin takes a deep breath and nervously removes his beanie.

Yoongi stares at him. “Your hair’s bright orange,” he accuses.

“I know,” Jimin whines pitifully.

“I thought you were going for auburn,” Yoongi states incredulously.

“I was,” Jimin complains, “but something went wrong. I don’t know what happened.”

“Oh, Jimin,” Yoongi sighs sadly, and maybe that’s the most depressing response Jimin could have received.

“I don’t know what to do,” he mumbles, staring at the table dejectedly. Yoongi somehow knows that they’re no longer talking about the hair.

“You could just… give up?” Yoongi suggests tentatively. It’s something he’s been wanting to suggest for a while, but it’s always felt like a selfish request. “Come back to school.” _Come back to me._

Jimin slumps in his seat. “I should never have left,” he admits. He sounds defeated. He then looks at Yoongi apprehensively. “Would they even let me come back?”

“I don’t see why not,” Yoongi responds. “You always had great grades, so the school would probably love to have you back to bring up their ratings. Plus mocks are next week, so you haven’t missed the practice exams. If you study hard this week, you could be back on track before you know it.”

Jimin raises his eyebrows. “It sounds like you’ve thought about this a lot.”

Yoongi opens his mouth to respond with a poorly thought-up excuse, but nothing comes out. Eventually he has to settle for, “I have.”

Jimin smiles at him; shyly at first, but then it grows and he tries his best to bite it down. “Why?”

Yoongi can hear his brain screaming at him to back away from the situation; that love doesn’t work out and he’ll only end up losing Jimin in the same way that his parents lost each other.

He sighs, a little defeatedly. “You know why.”

Jimin gulps. Is this finally happening? “You need to say it,” he says gently.

Yoongi looks up at Jimin and sees the insecurity plastered on his face, and he realises that he _does_ need to say it. For Jimin’s sake, even more so than his own. So that Jimin knows how much he’s cared for.

So Yoongi ignores the way his brain is screaming at him – the way his body is telling him that being with Jimin will only break both of them. He’s starting to realise that it doesn’t have to be like that.

“I want you to come back to school, Jimin.” Starting small. He’s _got_ this. “I miss you being around – I miss not seeing you every day. I miss _you_. And I want you to come back. I _want_ you.”

The two of them freeze in place, staring at each other; both wondering whether those words really just came out of Yoongi’s mouth.

“You want _me_?” Jimin asks, just to be sure.

Yoongi nods, nervous. It’s an unusual look for him and Jimin doesn’t like seeing him looking so anxious. “I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

Jimin opens his mouth to respond, but no suitable words come to mind. Eventually he mutters incredulously, “Even with my hair bright orange?”

“You make it work,” Yoongi replies with no hesitation, and then he smiles because they’re making a conversation about hair dye sound so serious.

There’s a long pause as they let the confession sink in, both of them starting to smile widely at each other. The smiles are full of relief more than anything else.

And then Yoongi continues, “But you really should quit beauty school. Anyone who dyes their hair orange by mistake probably isn’t cut out for that line of work.”

Jimin laughs. “God, you’re right,” he agrees, and finally he feels like he’s seeing the world clearly. “What was I _thinking_?”

Yoongi shrugs. “Probably that you’d ace beauty school, just like you ace everything else. But I guess it would be unfair for you to be good at everything.”

Jimin’s smile disappears all of a sudden, and Yoongi wonders whether he’s gone too far.

“I don’t understand you,” Jimin says after a moment. “You talk to me about your family and you open yourself up, and I get that you trust me. And then you flirt with me and expect me to take it all in my stride, but I never knew whether you meant it or whether you just wanted a reaction. And now you tell me you _want_ me. But what does that _mean_ , Yoongi? What do _you_ want from this? Because I don’t want to just be wanted. I want to date you and call you my boyfriend and do stupid fluffy shit with no ulterior motive.”

Yoongi’s brain draws a blank, but when his mouth opens he finds that the words have been right there waiting for him all along. “I want you, Jimin, whatever that means. I want to flirt with you without you thinking I have an ulterior motive and I want to compliment you without you thinking I’m just being nice. I don’t _do_ nice, Jimin. I want you to be mine. I want to call you my boyfriend. And I want you to want me too.” He looks away suddenly, wondering where all his confidence came from. “I just want you. That’s all.”

Jimin grins. “God, if I’d have known all I had to do to make you my boyfriend was to dye my hair orange,” he laughs, and then Yoongi laughs too.

After all, it is pretty ridiculous.

They’re pretty ridiculous.

Jimin beams and nudges his chair closer to Yoongi’s. “I really want to kiss you right now,” he admits. And it isn’t the first time he’s thought it, not by a long shot, but it’s the first time he’s said it out loud. It’s the first time he’s _done_ anything about it.

“I want to kiss you too,” Yoongi mumbles, a little too numb from the shock to do anything except repeat Jimin’s words back to him. But as Jimin leans towards him and his lips get closer and closer, Yoongi panics. “Don’t you think we should take things slowly?” he asks abruptly as he stands up in his seat, feeling a little worried. He doesn’t want to mess things up and he hasn’t even had a chance to process what’s happened tonight, let alone to actually start the relationship on a good note.

Jimin stands up too before stepping closer to Yoongi and placing his hands on Yoongi’s hips. “Why?” he asks innocently.

“We’ve literally only just got together,” he explains, even though he’s already regretting the decision to back away from the kiss. He’s been waiting for this for _so long_. But he’s also so used to pushing away the people that he wants to hold close. It’s his default reaction.

Jimin smiles, seeming to understand his nervousness. But he also notices how Yoongi pulls him closer, and he understands that Yoongi wants this, wants _him_ , even when his words may suggest otherwise. “We’ve taken one and a half years to get to this point,” he says with a small smile. “I think we can afford to move a little quicker.”

And with that, they both lean in and their lips brush against each other – and it doesn’t feel like fireworks, or like sparks of electricity, or like the world is about to combust. Instead, it feels like comfort; like love; like coming home.

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” Yoongi mumbles against Jimin’s lips. He doesn’t mean to let the words slip out, but his guard is down – and it’s okay, because Jimin laughs.

“I know. Me too.” Jimin smiles widely, before leaning back in to kiss him again.

 

***

 

10 minutes later, when LE returns with a bucket of cleaning apparatus ready to clear all the glitter from the table, she walks back into the seating area to find Suga and Jimin kissing each other.

“Jesus Christ, about fucking time,” she announces before poking Suga’s back with the end of her mop. “Now take that somewhere else, would you? I’ve got to lock up.”

“Fuck off,” Suga growls at her before kissing Jimin again.

“ _Okay_ ,” Jimin chuckles, taking pity on LE. He grabs Suga’s hand and leads him towards the door. “Are you free again this week?” he asks Suga hopefully.

“I’m free tomorrow,” Suga mumbles. “I could come over and we could study Chemistry together? You have a lot of work to catch up on, and you’re really good at explaining things to me.”

“Okay,” Jimin grins. “I’ll see you then.”

 

***

 

On Sunday afternoon, Jimin is sat with Jungkook in the living room as they both frantically study for their exams tomorrow.

“Fuck, I’m never going to be ready for this,” Jimin complains.

They spent their first hour together talking about Jimin’s new relationship, and then the next couple of hours talking about how much revision time they’ve wasted and how they’ll _never_ be ready for the exams, let alone by next week.

“It’s not the real thing,” Jungkook says consolingly. “I’m so glad you’re coming back, though. It was weird without you.”

Jimin grins. “Thanks, Kook.”

“No problem,” Jungkook snorts. “What did you want me to say, that I’m going to hate having to see you every day again?”

Jimin shrugs, unperturbed by Jungkook’s mocking tone of voice. “You didn’t have to say anything.” He sighs and stretches out across the sofa. “Do you have any snacks? I’m seriously flagging here.”

“I’ve got a bunch of snacks I keep in my room for when I’m doing homework,” Jungkook suggests, so they head upstairs to his bedroom.

“I keep the snacks in my desk drawer over here,” Jungkook explains, but Jimin is too distracted to listen.

“Hey, this looks like V’s shirt,” he says, looking curiously at the t-shirt laid out on Jungkook’s bed. “You know, the one he was wearing at the party a few days ago?”

Shit. Jungkook forgot that shirt was in here. “Oh yeah, I…”

_Shit shit shit._

“I… stole it,” Jungkook decides.

Okay, it’s a bit creepy, but it’s better than Jimin finding out that V slept over on Saturday night and then forgot about the clothes he put in the washing machine. And Jimin _definitely_ doesn’t need to know that Jungkook has been wearing V’s t-shirt to bed every night since.

“You _stole_ it?” Jimin asks incredulously. “Why?”

Jungkook cowers under Jimin’s demanding stare. “I thought it was nice,” he replies meekly.

“Oh my God, Jungkook. You actually took his t-shirt? I thought you were going to say that you liked it and bought something similar.”

_Damn. That would have made sense._

Jimin rolls his eyes despairingly. “I can’t believe you just took it!”

“Uh…” Jungkook falters. Because he’s really dug himself into a hole here, and now he’s made himself out to be not only creepily obsessed with V, but also a thief. “Well. I only took it to find out where he got it, so that I could buy my own,” he attempts.

“Why didn’t you just ask him?” Jimin frowns.

This also makes sense. Jimin is making a lot of sense today and Jungkook wishes that he wouldn’t.

“I don’t know. Talking to him makes me nervous?” Jungkook tries.

“But stealing from him is fine,” Jimin scoffs.

“I’m going to give it back,” Jungkook insists. “It’s only borrowing.”

“Borrowing without permission,” Jimin corrects. He then sighs tiredly. “I don’t know what to do with you sometimes, Jungkook. I leave you alone for a couple of months and when I come back you’ve gone completely off the rails.” He looks at his best friend sternly. “You’re going to bring this shirt into school tomorrow and give it back. Okay?”

Jungkook gulps nervously, scared to anticipate how that scene will play out, but he nods regardless.

“And just for the record, Jungkook, if you want any of my clothes, you can just ask me where they’re from. Please don’t root through my wardrobe and ‘borrow’ anything,” Jimin pleads.

Jungkook nods mutely, too embarrassed to say anything more.

 

***

 

“V,” Jimin calls the next day when he sees him on his way to his drama exam. “Jungkook here has something to return to you.”

Jungkook can only thank the universe that V is on his way to an exam, because in any other situation he would probably be surrounded by either the T-Birds or his usual entourage of girls.

V’s step falters and he turns towards Jimin and Jungkook, evidently confused. Jungkook sighs exasperatedly and heads over towards V, Jimin hot on his heels.

Jungkook takes V’s shirt out of his backpack and holds it out towards V, whose eyes widen. Before V can ask what on earth is going on, or whether Jimin knows about what’s happening between them, Jungkook launches into his explanation.

“I’m sorry for stealing your shirt,” he begins unenthusiastically. “I only wanted to check where it was from so I could get one the same, but I should have just asked you. Stealing is wrong and I apologise profusely.” His voice is flat and devoid of any emotion.

V, trying desperately not to laugh, unzips his bag, takes the shirt from Jungkook and shoves it inside. “Whilst that was a very weird thing to do, I appreciate your honestly,” V says, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Jungkook full-on scowls at him, in no way amused by the irony of the situation.

“Besides,” V continues breezily, “I _am_ a fashion icon, so I can’t really blame you. Anyway, thanks for returning it, I guess. See you around.” He swings his bag over his shoulder and saunters over to the drama department.

 _Well thanks for nothing_ , Jungkook thinks bitterly to himself. If possible, V made the situation even more awkward.

“Come on Kook, we need to get to our first exams,” Jimin smiles as he looks at Jungkook proudly. He knew that Jungkook would pull through and do the right thing, although Jimin likes to think that it’s partly due to his good influence.

Jungkook smiles tightly at Jimin as they walk to the exam hall together. For Jimin, exam week means a new start, but for Jungkook it means not seeing his boyfriend for a whole week. It was his suggestion, of course, because he gets distracted too easily and he really needs to focus on revision this week. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be hard.

Before they walk inside for their first exam, Jimin wishes Jungkook good luck. Jungkook smiles and follows Jimin inside, with the distinct feeling that he’s going to need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> ngl the tuna and cheese jacket potato thing is only really in there because I was craving it when I wrote it
> 
> anYWAY
> 
> I hope you enjoyed eek. I’m so excited about what I have planned for the next couple of chapters tbh so stay tuned ;))) it was so interesting seeing what you guys thought of the previous chapter, so if you have any thoughts you’d like to share please leave me a comment and let’s talk about this fic! I have no one to discuss it with lol so pls induldge me.
> 
> ok, that’s everything :P until next time! :))


	24. I'm losing control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung and Jungkook get reckless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii. sorry this took so long. this chapter was actually so much harder to write than I thought it would be? like, I thought it would be out quickly because I had 4.5k written already, but then the beginning scenes gave me a bit of trouble and then I ended up rewriting the stuff I already had written as well, so. what can you do ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> warning for a bit of homophobia in this chapter :(((( I had SO much trouble with the homophobia scene like I wrote it about 6 times?! I’m too pro-homo for my own good. so hopefully it’s somewhat realistic but idk bc I really don’t get why people would have a problem with gayness lmao
> 
> this chapter is also probably the closest we’ll ever get to smut? (it’s not even smut, at all, it’s just like ?? passionate kissing ?? idek but yeahh) I wasn’t even going to include anything like this but. character development / relationship progression and all that
> 
> okayyyy all that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! <3

Monday sees Taehyung talking to Jungkook on the bus journey home for half an hour, with “I fucking hate exams” as his eloquent opening line.

“Did it not go well?” Jungkook asks sympathetically, a couple of textbooks spread open in front of him as he tries hopelessly to multitask.

“No, the Drama one was fine,” Taehyung answers nonchalantly. “And Biology was kind of shit, but that’s just Biology for you. I’m just pissed that I have to wait another two days before my next one, you know? I mean, I’m so _done_ with exams – I did two in one day; what more do they want from me?” Plus his lack of exams means there’s no reason for him to come into school for the next couple of days, which means no phone call with Jungkook on the way home. That’s what he’s really upset about.

Jungkook laughs at Taehyung’s mini monologue, but then his words sink in. “Wait – you don’t have any exams tomorrow or the day after?”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line as Taehyung shuffles awkwardly in his seat. “I did tell you.”

Jungkook sighs, a little frustrated with himself. “I guess I’ve been so focused on revision that I didn’t really register what it meant. So I won’t speak to you again until Thursday?” Neither of them are going to dance class tomorrow because of exam week, but Jungkook didn’t realise that he wouldn’t be seeing or talking to Taehyung at all.

Taehyung frowns, thinking through the options. He can chat as much as he likes during the day, but he knows from experience that if he’s on the phone to someone while his parents are around, they’ll pressure him for details. Besides, he definitely can’t talk freely with them around and he’d rather not censor himself. It would be too easy to slip up. “I can talk during school time?” he offers.

Jungkook pouts a little, even though Taehyung can’t see him. “I can’t. I’ll be doing revision and even when I’m not, the Pink Ladies will want to know who I’m talking to. Jimin was being so nosy today; I think he feels like he missed out on a lot while he was away. I – I don’t want to risk it,” he explains regretfully.

“I’ll text you. A lot,” Taehyung says decisively. He then looks around at the other people on the bus, slightly wary. He still hasn’t got over his fear of people overhearing his conversations with Jungkook and drawing their own conclusions before he’s ready to confirm anything.

Having said that, he’s getting there. Really. He’s already started to think about who he wants to come out to first – J-Hope, of course, because although a bad reaction is terrifying, he wants his best friend to officially be the first to know – and he’s planning on asking for Jungkook’s help with it as soon as he isn’t so stressed with exams. Taehyung thinks that maybe they should write a script, or something. He’s good with memorising lines.

Nobody on the bus seems to be paying Taehyung any attention, so he continues quietly, “I miss you.”

Jungkook laughs breathily. “I miss you too. I don’t really know why. I saw you today.” He’s aware that it sounds ridiculous, because really he shouldn’t be so dependent on one person. But this is Taehyung, and he’s the exception to all of Jungkook’s rules on social interaction, so why should this be any different?

“It’s not the same,” Taehyung agrees. “We haven’t really seen each other properly since last Sunday. But I’ll talk to you on the way home on Thursday, and then we’ll see each other on Friday night for our date, remember? We just have to last a few more days.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees. “I’ll be so busy with revision anyway; it’ll probably go really quickly.”

Taehyung snorts. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Shut up,” Jungkook chuckles. He then looks down at his music textbook, the reminder of revision prompting him to look down at his notes. Jungkook feels a little guilty for trying to avoid the inevitable workload by talking to Taehyung instead.

“Do you need to go?” Taehyung asks after a second. “I can tell that you’re distracted.”

Jungkook sighs, looking at his notes with a resigned expression as they look right back at him. “It’s my music theory paper tomorrow. I don’t know a word of Italian; how the hell am I supposed to know what ‘andante’ means?” he whinges. “Apparently these are the basics, too. So, in short, I’m screwed.”

Taehyung laughs. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ve still got a few months before the real thing! You have _plenty_ of time to become fluent.”

“Sure,” Jungkook says through a chuckle, because even if Taehyung is being ridiculous, it does make him feel a little better. Especially with Jimin (and his insane work ethic) back at school, it’s good to talk to Taehyung and gain a bit of perspective. Even if Jungkook were to fail all of his exams this week, it wouldn’t really matter.

“I can quiz you, if you want?” Taehyung offers. “I can get up a list of Italian music phrases up on my phone or whatever.”

“That could actually be pretty helpful,” Jungkook says, relieved to have some help, so Taehyung passes the time helping Jungkook revise until he says that he needs to move on to studying the set works. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that Taehyung can offer any help with, so he lets Jungkook go.

They only need to make it to Friday.

 

***

 

As expected, Jungkook is so busy with revision that the time actually does pass quickly – as it tends to when you wish it wouldn’t. Jungkook would have preferred having more time to cram, but he supposes it’s just as well that he’s learnt his lesson before the actual exams begin in May.

He wonders whether Taehyung did much work for his mocks in the end. They hardly spoke to each other on Thursday night because Jungkook was trying to cram for his exams on Friday, but even now that Friday’s exams have come and gone and school is over, Jungkook still isn’t satisfied. Hani’s throwing an ‘end of exams (for now)’ celebration for the T-Birds, which of course Taehyung is going to, so they can’t see each other until later in the evening.

They’ve agreed to meet at 8pm, after Taehyung escapes under the guise of having a date. (Technically, it isn’t a lie. It’s neither Jungkook’s nor Taehyung’s fault that all the T-Birds have assumed he’s still dating Jennie.)

When Taehyung shows up at Jungkook’s front door 10 minutes early, too eager to see him, Jungkook is already waiting by the door, just as eager. He opens the door and then Taehyung’s lips are on his, kissing him gently, then a little harder, his hands travelling between Jungkook’s back and neck and arms and chest until Jungkook pushes him away far too soon, breathless.

“I – my mum,” he says incoherently as Taehyung frowns at him. “She’s. In the living room. Dad too.” His tongue darts out to wet his lips unconsciously and Taehyung’s eyes follow the motion, before Jungkook’s words sink in and Taehyung takes a deliberate step back from Jungkook, putting some space between them.

Jungkook tries to regain his breath while Taehyung wonders whether Jungkook’s mother heard them kissing, and then wonders how much kissing they could actually get away with before Taehyung was banned from visiting again. “Thanks for the warning,” he says sarcastically.

“You didn’t give me much of a chance to say anything,” Jungkook grins, heading outside fully and closing the door behind him. It suddenly hits him that this must be the first proper kiss they’ve shared in a public area, and it’s too dark to know whether anyone could have seen. But Taehyung initiated the kiss and surely he would have checked the surroundings already, so Jungkook forces himself to relax. They know what they’re doing.

“How did your last exams go today?” Taehyung asks as they walk down the street, even though all he really wants right now is to kiss Jungkook again. Of course he wants to hear about Jungkook’s week, too, but he can still taste Jungkook on his lips and now it’s all he can think about. He really should have known better than to kiss him as soon as he opened the door, without even greeting him first, but they haven’t seen each other all week and he couldn’t resist.

“They were okay, I guess,” Jungkook responds noncommittally. “I don’t know. I don’t really want to think about it again. If I fail, at least I’ll be better prepared for the actual ones.”

“That’s the spirit,” Taehyung chuckles, not noticing how Jungkook’s eyes stay focused on his mouth after he stops speaking. “Did you do anything to celebrate tonight?”

“Huh?” Jungkook asks gormlessly.

Taehyung stifles a laugh. “I _said_ , did you do anything to celebrate?” he repeats, taking hold of Jungkook’s hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss his knuckles.

“I –” Jungkook falters, his face flushing a bright shade of pink from the outward display of affection. There’s nobody around, but it still makes him feel all funny inside. “I’m just – going out with you,” he answers, stuttering slightly.

“So cute,” Taehyung mumbles, an offhanded comment under his breath, but Jungkook hears it and blushes again.

“How was Hani’s thing?” Jungkook asks as Taehyung drops his hand.

“Very _Hani_ ,” Taehyung answers with a laugh. “She bought balloons and played crap music and made us all dance when we didn’t want to. There was alcohol, too, but none of us had any because we have _some_ semblance of self-control, thank you very much. But yeah, it was good.” Suga also left early to meet up with Jimin, and J-Hope was talking about heading to the café to annoy LE just as Taehyung was getting ready to leave, so he didn’t feel too bad about ditching the party. Nobody seemed that interested in where he was going, either, which was a relief.

“I’m glad it was good,” Jungkook says. “It means we didn’t wait an extra four hours to see each other for no reason.”

Taehyung grins. “You know I would’ve preferred to go out with you.”

Jungkook smiles back bashfully. “Yeah, I know. What’s the plan for tonight?”

Taehyung shrugs. “I’m not really sure. All I know is that I really want to kiss you again.”

Jungkook’s breath hitches in his throat before he forces himself to calm down. They kiss _all the time_ – it’s not exactly a novel idea. But something about having to wait for it for almost two weeks makes his whole body feel like it’s on full alert. “I – okay, well, me too. But we need to find somewhere to stop and – will the park be closed by now?” he babbles. “It’s dark, too. I’m not sure if –”

“We can go to the park,” Taehyung cuts in, a little amused by how easy it is to make Jungkook flustered. “It might be a bit dark, but that’s romantic, right?” he adds with a cheesy smile.

“Not if we can’t see each other,” Jungkook points out.

“Huh. True,” Taehyung acknowledges, still staring at Jungkook’s mouth unabashedly. He feels a little guilty for it, because he wants to pay full attention to the conversation they’re having, but God knows that he shouldn’t have kissed Jungkook if he didn’t want to be thinking of his lips all night. He can hardly concentrate on where he’s walking.

“Tell me about your exams,” Jungkook instructs, struggling to keep his mind from wandering.

“There’s not much to say,” Taehyung says evasively.

“You’re making this extremely difficult,” Jungkook snaps.

Taehyung raises his eyebrows. “I just don’t have anything to tell you. They were exams, and I’ve told you about most of them anyway. Do you want me to say I enjoyed them?”

Jungkook shrugs sadly. “I’m trying to talk to you. You usually have more to say than this.”

Taehyung carefully takes Jungkook’s hand in his, looking around nervously to make sure that nobody is watching them. “I can’t help it that I can’t stay focused,” he says quietly to Jungkook. “It’s pretty hard to hold a conversation when all I can think about is how much I want to kiss you again.”

Jungkook glares at him as he tries to ignore the butterflies erupting in his stomach. “We have to wait until we find somewhere more secluded. Your rules, remember?”

“My rules are stupid,” Taehyung says decisively as he leads Jungkook down a side street; a small alleyway with no streetlamps and no people. It’s already dark enough outside that if they press against the wall, nobody will be able to see them.

Taehyung gently pulls Jungkook towards him, sandwiching himself between the wall and Jungkook’s body, before connecting their lips – and yes, Taehyung may be incredibly biased, but he has a feeling Jungkook is the best kisser to have ever existed.

They stand there for a few minutes, kissing innocently, until Taehyung forces himself to draw back. “This is okay, right?” he mumbles, just to make sure. The whole ‘communication’ thing still isn’t his strong point, but he’s working on it.

“Hmm?” Jungkook asks, and Taehyung isn’t sure whether Jungkook is having trouble hearing him because he’s speaking too quietly or because his mind is elsewhere.

But Taehyung doesn’t want to take any chances, so he leans closer to Jungkook to say “Is this okay?” directly into his ear, before kissing the shell of his ear, then the spot just underneath his earlobe, then his neck – because Taehyung is _weak_ and he has no self-control when it comes to Jungkook.

“Of course it’s okay,” Jungkook scoffs, trying to act cool even when he feels his heart doing somersaults in his chest. “What kind of – _ah –_ of a question is that?” he finishes, although he thinks his sentence may lose some of its impact from the way he practically moans right in the middle of it.

Taehyung grins at him, something almost childlike about his excitement, and not for the first time Jungkook gets whiplash at how Taehyung can go from sexy to adorable in a split second. “You like that?” Taehyung asks, before kissing the same spot on his neck again.

“ _Oh –_ oh my God, stop it,” Jungkook says irritably, embarrassed.

Taehyung’s eyes flit up to meet Jungkook’s. “Okay,” he says, reluctantly pulling away. “Sorry.” As much as he wants to kiss Jungkook senseless, what he really wants is to make Jungkook happy. But, oddly enough, he doesn’t _seem_ happy when Taehyung pulls away.

“I – Tae, come on, this isn’t fair,” Jungkook whines.

“What isn’t?” he asks carefully. They said they’d try to work on talking to each other and expressing their feelings better, but Jungkook is seriously giving him mixed signals here.

“How can you… be so _good_ at this?” Jungkook asks quietly, almost to himself.

Taehyung frowns. “Good at what?”

“ _This_ ,” Jungkook repeats emphatically. “Kissing. Making me feel all – _weird._ You’re just… so good to me, Tae. I – I don’t – _shit,_ this is embarrassing.” He looks down at the ground and Taehyung stares at him, a little concerned.

“Kookie, what’s going on?” Taehyung asks, tightening his hold on Jungkook’s hips protectively. Jungkook doesn’t usually stumble over his words like this when they’re together anymore. He’s supposed to feel comfortable enough around Taehyung that expressing his thoughts isn’t an issue. “You don’t need to be nervous. I – I stopped, okay? I’m sorry for pushing you.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “No, Tae. That’s not – I don’t _want_ you to stop,” he mumbles. “That’s the problem.”

Taehyung’s eyes widen in realisation. “Oh.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it,” Jungkook continues. “About _you._ Ever since the day after Rosé’s party, when you stayed over… remember when I pushed you out of bed and made you leave the room?” He smiles shyly at the memory, looking a little embarrassed. “I wanted it, then. And I want it now, too.” He forces himself to maintain eye contact with Taehyung, even when he feels his cheeks heating up at the admission. “I guess I’ve wanted it for a while, ever since we got back together. But I’ve just… I’ve felt too awkward to say anything about it.”

“What do you want, Kookie?” Taehyung asks softly, because as much as he loves what he’s hearing, Jungkook isn’t giving him any specifics and he doesn’t want to misunderstand.

“ _You_ ,” Jungkook says insistently, and maybe it isn’t a very useful answer, but that doesn’t matter, because then Jungkook’s lips are pressing against his, _hard_ , kissing the living daylights out of him, and Taehyung thinks that maybe this will be how he dies. But he’s also one hundred percent okay with that.

It feels more heated than before, but Taehyung is more than happy to go along with it and follow Jungkook’s lead. When Jungkook’s tongue slips into his mouth, he groans a little, realising just how much he’s missed this feeling of having Jungkook so close, and Jungkook smiles against his mouth before kissing him harder.

Taehyung grips Jungkook’s hips almost forcefully as he pushes their bodies impossibly closer, and Jungkook responds by pushing him back against the wall. But when Jungkook accidentally pushes him too hard, he cards his fingers gently through Taehyung’s hair by means of a silent apology.

Taehyung feels himself getting breathless. He’s hooked up with a lot of people and he’s kissed them with desperation, but never has he kissed someone who kisses back so hungrily and urgently, and yet so gently and lovingly, all at once.

As Taehyung pulls away to get some much-needed air, Jungkook leans forward and bites his earlobe. Taehyung gasps at the contact and quickly gives up trying to catch his breath as the air gets stuck in his throat.

When he feels Jungkook’s tongue start to play with his earring, he can’t help the moan that escapes from his mouth. Jungkook smirks, proud that he’s got his revenge from earlier, and Taehyung fights the blush spreading to his cheeks. But it’s hard to remember to be embarrassed when Jungkook is kissing his skin like that, so when another moan spills out of his lips, he doesn’t suppress it.

“You’re – you’re usually so shy,” Taehyung whines as he pushes his body closer to Jungkook’s. “What changed?”

Jungkook leaves a trail of kisses down to his collarbone and then admits, “I guess I realised that you were never going to take things further unless I initiated it. So… here I am. Initiating.” He looks at Taehyung bashfully and Taehyung grins.

“I like you like this. Taking control, and everything. It’s so hot.”

Jungkook smirks in response before kissing him on the mouth again, slotting his leg in between Taehyung’s thighs as he lets his hands run freely over Taehyung’s body.  He allows one hand to slip under Taehyung’s shirt and move closer to the waistband of his jeans, _closer,_ until –

Jungkook pulls away suddenly, placing his hands firmly on Taehyung’s chest when Taehyung goes to lean back in. “I think I heard something,” he says, his voice breathless. And although they may feel totally drunk on each other, that one sentence is enough for both of them to instantly sober up.

They both pause, breathing heavily, and over the breathing they can just about hear voices in the distance – then quiet laughter, which gets louder with every passing second. It’s probably just some people having a good Friday night out who happen to be passing by, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.

“I bet it’s nothing,” Taehyung whispers, but his heartbeat is already speeding up. There’s no way he wants to start this whole coming out experience by explaining why he was making out with some guy against a wall in a dark alleyway on a Friday night. Nope, _definitely_ not how he wants to start that conversation.

Jungkook looks down the street, where he can now see a group of people walking past. It’s surprisingly easy to forget that they’re in public and Jungkook sets a reminder in his head to _control_ himself when he and Taehyung aren’t somewhere private. “There are people walking past. I – I guess we got a bit carried away,” Jungkook admits embarrassedly as he reluctantly puts some distance between him and Taehyung.

Taehyung grins. “I’m not complaining.”

Jungkook laughs, relaxing. “Right. Well… we were on our way to the park, weren’t we? So. You ready to go?”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow pointedly. “In case it’s escaped your notice,” he says, gesturing to the bulge in his jeans, “I’m not really ready to go _anywhere_ just yet.”

Jungkook gulps. “Right,” he repeats. He tears his gaze away from Taehyung’s crotch, trying to keep himself in check, but when he looks up he realises that the group of people aren’t just walking past the alleyway but are in fact walking _towards_ them. “I suppose we should just wait here until these people have come past,” he says, although he sounds a little hesitant. The people walking in their direction – guys around their age, Jungkook notices now that they’re a little closer – seem a _little_ past tipsy and Jungkook isn’t all too convinced he likes the look of them.

Taehyung follows Jungkook’s gaze and then turns back to Jungkook urgently. “Shit. Jungkook. Tell me we’re not in the alley next to the purple house.”

Jungkook frowns. “Uh –” He looks behind him and shrugs. “There’s a purple house right on the corner here? But Tae, why does it matter –”

“Fuck,” Taehyung hisses. “I know those guys. I mean, I don’t _know_ them, but I’ve heard of them. And you probably have too – you know those homophobic douchebags in my year at school?”

Jungkook blinks. “The ones that got really drunk a couple months ago and landed that one guy in hospital for a couple of days?” he asks apprehensively. He really doesn’t like where this is going.

Taehyung nods nervously. “We’re in _their_ alley.”

Jungkook flounders. “Well _you’re_ the one that dragged us down here!”

Taehyung sighs, frustrated. “I wasn’t paying attention, I –” He turns back towards the people and nods. “Yep, that’s done the trick. I’m flaccid.”

Jungkook stares at him. “Taehyung, what the fuck. There are more important things to think about right now.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes, frustrated at himself. “I can’t believe we’re in their street! Which is fucking stupid, by the way, because you can’t _own_ a street unless you’re the council, but whatever. I wouldn’t even care if it was just me, but if they lay a single _finger_ on you then I swear to God I’ll _kill_ them.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “Well, they’re not here yet. They might not have even seen us. Let’s just go.”

“Oh,” Taehyung says in realisation. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.” But as soon as they start walking away, a bottle smashes right at Taehyung’s feet and he realises that they may have left it too late to escape.

“You dick, that was my vodka you just smashed on the floor,” a loud voice slurs from not far behind them.

“It was empty, you twat,” another voice grumbles back. “Anyway, you really want to let them get away? They’re in _our_ alley; we need to put them in their place.”

Another voice asks, “Who are they?”

“I don’t know, just a couple of faggots,” the first voice responds. “Think we caught them in the middle of a hook-up.”

“Gross,” another voice groans.

Taehyung sees Jungkook frown at the homophobic slur and it makes Taehyung want to put these guys in _their_ place.

“What did you guys think you were doing, fucking around in _our_ alley?” the boy at the front of the group says snidely – and yes, the sentence is beyond stupid, but it’s also a blatant challenge and _V_ has never been one to turn down one of those. Because _apparently,_ Jungkook thinks to himself bitterly, that’s the person that Taehyung has turned into right now.

V raises an eyebrow, too arrogant to seem like he’s not challenging them right back. “My sex life has nothing to do with you. So, if you’d kindly fuck right off, I’ll get back to my date and you can get back to being the biggest twats of the century, sound good?” He’s stepped into the light now, facing the group of guys head on and Jungkook rolls his eyes again. V isn’t even drunk; why is he acting just as bad as the others?

“Your _date_ ,” one of the others says, somehow managing to phrase it like an accusation. “You do know that’s not _normal_ , right?”

“Yes, we’re very aware that we’re the scum of the earth and we’ll be leaving you alone now,” Jungkook pipes up from the sidelines, grabbing the sleeve of V’s jacket and trying to pull him away.

Another guy snorts in distaste – how many of them are there? Five? It’s hard to tell in the darkness. “You really think we’ll just let you _leave_?” he says slowly and Jungkook gulps.

V turns to look at Jungkook and realises that, in his reluctance to just wait until they got to the park before initiating a make out session, he may have completely screwed them over.

“Tae,” Jungkook mumbles, and the look of panic on his face is enough for V to make his decision.

“Go,” he says quietly. “I’ll catch up to you later.”

“ _What?_ ” Jungkook demands, because that doesn’t even make _sense._ “You’re an idiot if you think I’m leaving you here.”

“Then I’m a fucking idiot,” V snaps. “Because that’s what you’re going to do.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “Don’t do this,” he murmurs, because it’s bad enough getting bullied for who he is, but it’s even worse when his boyfriend is going to be attacked too and he can’t think of a way to _stop_ it.

“This is my fault,” V mumbles back, more gently this time. “Just – leave, go home, I’ll be fine.”

“You won’t be _fine_ ,” Jungkook protests, too worried about V to notice a couple of the boys at the front cracking their knuckles in anticipation.

The guy at the front inches towards him, shooting him an arrogant smile. “So,” he says, turning back to his friends with a smirk. “Who should we go for first? The one who thinks he actually stands a chance, or the one who’s too much of a wimp to try and fight back?”

“You won’t even _touch_ him,” V says angrily, stepping closer again to the group of drunken idiots and further from Jungkook, who’s hurriedly backing away.

One of the other boys raises an eyebrow, vaguely amused. “Oh, yeah? And why’s that?” he slurs, before punching him dead in the face, just because he can.

V smirks, despite the ringing in his head and the way his nose is now stinging. “Because he’s not here,” he says coolly.

The others peer around V in surprise and realise that, by getting closer to them, V managed to obstruct their view so that they didn’t notice Jungkook leaving.

V can only hope that the others are satisfied enough with hurting him that they don’t chase after Jungkook as well.

The guy at the front purses his lips, annoyed, but then he shrugs, like this was his plan all along. “If your plan was to get beaten up by _more_ of us, then well done, you succeeded.”

V rolls his eyes as the boy who punched him pipes up, “So are you going to put up a fight, or what?”

One of the others scoffs. “ _Please._ Like that would even make a difference.”

V shrugs. “Doesn’t matter if I’m playing a losing game. I’m not going to give in that easily.”

And so it starts with him being punched again in the face, then the groin, then the back of his legs so that he’s crouching on the floor. And he fights back, of course he does, because he has _pride_ , but V is also vastly outnumbered and he can only put up so much of a fight before he’s overpowered.

 

***

 

Once Taehyung is out of his sight, Jungkook runs.

He runs past the café and past the dance studio and past the street where he and Taehyung had their first post-summer kiss. He runs past the school and past the entrance to the park and he almost runs to J-Hope’s house to get some help, but then he remembers that he’ll be at Hani’s house for the party and Jungkook doesn’t know where Hani’s house is and – even if he did, he can’t even talk to any of them about this. Everything’s a secret and if he wanted to explain it all now, it would take far too long.

As Jungkook keeps on going with no specific destination in mind, his brain insists on playing back to him the memories of being bullied last year, except with Taehyung stood in his place. Somehow, even though he knows it isn’t real, it hurts so much more when it’s Taehyung who’s being insulted and pushed around instead of him.

Eventually Jungkook finds himself outside his own house. He has no idea when he started crying, but he can feel the tear tracks on his cheeks and he can hear that his breathing is unsteady from more than just the sprint back home. He fumbles around in his pockets, desperately searching for his keys, but in his frenzied state he can’t find anything and he slams his hand against the door in frustration.

His mother must hear all the commotion from inside the house because a couple of moments later the door is opening and Jungkook is collapsing into her arms rather pitifully.

“Jungkook, what are you doing here?” She asks, rubbing his back soothingly. “I thought you were seeing Taehyung tonight.” She pulls away from him with a frown. “He didn’t hurt you, did he? I swear to God, if he’s done something to upset you…” Her voices takes on a dangerous edge and her eyes narrow.

“No, mum, that’s not it,” Jungkook insists. “ _He’s_ the one who’s hurt. In fact, they’re probably still hurting him right now. And I just _left_ him there. Mum, it’s – it’s like last year, but worse. So much worse.” He flinches as his brain replays the footage of Taehyung being punched in the face and his mother eyes him apprehensively.

She draws him inside and gestures for him to sit down on the sofa, resting her hand on his knee comfortingly. “I’ll give you a few minutes to calm down. But then you need to tell me _exactly_ what happened, and we’ll figure something out together, okay honey?”

 

***

 

“I didn’t realise they ever let you leave early,” J-Hope comments as he and LE exit the café.

“Yeah, on days where it’s quiet. I’m surprised, though. I thought it would be busier now that exam week’s just finished,” LE frowns as she shrugs her jacket over her shoulders. The managers told most of the waitresses that they could go home because there were only three customers in the café – one of them being J-Hope, who never ordered anything and left as soon as he realised LE was allowed to leave too. The only waitress still working right now is Solji, because although the café unlikely to get a sudden influx of people with only 20 minutes to go until closing time, they need to keep someone there just in case.

“I guess people were too busy throwing their own parties,” J-Hope shrugs. That’s what he and the other T-Birds did, at least, and they’re some of the café’s more regular customers.

“I guess,” LE agrees noncommittally.

J-Hope looks over at her. “You okay?”

LE shrugs, but J-Hope can tell she feels uncomfortable. “Just don’t want to go home yet. I thought I’d have a bit more time before I had to go back.”

J-Hope smiles comfortingly. “You could always ask Hani if you can stay over.”

LE laughs. “What, you don’t want to invite me over yourself?”

J-Hope rolls his eyes. “I would, if only _someone_ wouldn’t get jealous.”

LE raises an eyebrow. “Is Rosé the jealous type? I thought she was more self-assured than that.”

J-Hope snorts. “I’m talking about Hani. She keeps bugging me about how you guys haven’t had a sleepover in ages. I don’t know what she expects _me_ to do about it, but hell if I ever understand her logic. Anyway, you can come to mine if you want, but I’m not getting involved when she gets upset about it.”

LE grins. “That does sound like typical Hani. Okay, yeah, I’ll text her now.”

LE is busy reading Hani’s reply – _of course you can come over! I was so sad you couldn’t come to the party earlier! what even is work, please. your best friend is more important. (get here asap, I have music and snacks!!!) –_ when she hears something that sounds like a group of people in the middle of a punch-up down one of the side streets.

“Hey, that’s those pricks from school down there, right?” LE asks, vaguely curious as she peers down the alley to watch the sight unfolding. The group of people are only a few metres away, but it’s hard to see them properly in the dark. “It’s not looking too good for today’s target,” she says with a grimace.

LE turns to J-Hope, expecting an answer, but instead she finds him staring at the scene with his mouth hanging open in shock. “LE – I think that’s V,” he says disbelievingly.

Her eyes widen. “Fuck,” she mutters, walking down the alley after J-Hope who’s already striding ahead. The victim is crouched on the floor, trying to shield the blows to his head, and the little that can be seen of his face is streaked with blood – but as the pair gets a bit closer, LE turns on the light on her phone and they can make out the boy’s facial features and… there’s no mistaking it. It’s definitely him.

“Hey, you bastards!” LE shouts angrily. A couple of them turn around in surprise and she yells, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing to my friend?”

One of the boys merely laughs in response, but the other one gapes, seeming to recognise her. He hits his friends and says something to them that LE and J-Hope are too far away to hear, but after that all five of them scrabble to their feet and run away (although ‘speedily stagger away’ may be a more accurate description).

“V,” J-Hope says softly as soon as they reach him. Only at this moment does V look up to see his saviours.

He smiles slightly, even though it makes the cut on his lip bleed more strongly. “I told him I’d be fine,” V croaks.

LE frowns. “What’s he talking about?” she asks J-Hope nervously.

“I think he’s a bit out of it,” J-Hope responds warily. “Don’t worry, I can take it from here.”

“Are you serious?” LE looks at V, now sat slumped against the wall, and winces. “He looks pretty beat up.”

“My mum’s a nurse,” J-Hope reminds her. “I’ll take him back home and make sure nothing’s too serious. You go on ahead, Hani’s waiting for you. He’ll be fine with me.”

“If you’re sure…” LE says, although she seems hesitant to leave. After a moment’s thought, she leans down and pats V consolingly on the shoulder before she sends J-Hope a tight smile and makes her way down the street.

J-Hope looks at V’s appearance and sighs, taking a seat next to him. His clothes are mainly intact, if not a bit bloody, but his face and arms are quite bruised. J-Hope hopes that the clothes aren’t hiding too many more bruises, although he doesn’t feel optimistic. He wonders guiltily how long V was taking punches without bothering to defend himself before he and LE turned up.

“You alright, mate?” J-Hope asks after a minute of silence. If he doesn’t have any words of comfort to offer, then he may as well speak like normal.

V looks up at J-Hope and smiles, although it looks more like a grimace.

“Hey, you know that was LE who patted you on the shoulder,” J-Hope says conversationally. “She obviously really cares – you know how much she hates physical contact,” he jokes.

“Yeah,” V agrees, his voice raw and scratchy. He then coughs loudly and J-Hope tries not to wince at how rough his best friend looks right now.

After another couple seconds of silence, J-Hope gives up all pretence and sighs. “Why were they attacking you?”

V doesn’t speak for a moment – long enough for J-Hope to consider repeating the question. But then he says in a very small voice, “I can’t tell you.”

“Bullshit,” J-Hope snaps. “You’re my friend and I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again, but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me what happened. Did they threaten you or something?”

“No… not really,” V replies helpfully.

J-Hope groans inwardly, deciding to change tack. “How long were they hurting you before we showed up?”

“I don’t know, 5 minutes, maybe 10?” V shrugs in defeat. “It wasn’t that long, really. But it feels like a lot longer when you’re getting kicked and punched repeatedly.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” J-Hope sighs. He stands up and stretches, proffering a hand to V. “Come on, we need to get you home.”

V almost laughs. “You think I can go home looking like this? My parents will completely freak out.”

“I’m not sure how you’re going to manage to hide it from them, looking like that,” J-Hope rolls his eyes. “But that’s not what I meant, anyway. You’re coming back to mine.”

V is quiet on the short walk back, but he doesn’t have too much trouble walking so J-Hope assumes that no serious damage has been done. By the time J-Hope opens the door and lets them both inside, his mum is already in the kitchen making a cup of coffee.

“I was wondering where you got to,” she says without turning around. “Do you want coffee? I was just making some.”

“Mum, V’s here too. And the coffee might have to wait,” J-Hope replies.

J-Hope’s mother turns around with a big smile on her face. “Hello again V, lovely to see…” Her face falls as she takes in the sight of his bloodied face. “What on earth happened to you?”

“He got beaten up,” J-Hope says nonchalantly. “He’s refusing to tell me anything else about it, but I wondered if maybe you could have a look at him?”

His mother nods immediately and gets her son to assist her in bringing V through to the living room and lying him down on one of the sofas. (Since reaching the safety of J-Hope’s home, V is too emotionally drained to pay much attention to instructions, so they need all the help they can get.)

Mrs Jung performs some generic medical checks to make sure that V is okay besides the bruises, accompanied by J-Hope who watches them apprehensively, wincing every so often at the sight of the blood. Mrs Jung cleans the blood off V’s wounds as she asks him about the attack – a couple of times she asks questions V has trouble answering, such as “How many times did they hit you?”, which V isn’t sure about because he lost count, or “Why would they do something like this to someone so lovely?”, at which V simply laughs weakly, understanding that it isn’t medically necessary to provide a response.

“All the damage appears to be on the surface,” Mrs Jung concludes, “which means that there shouldn’t be any lingering problems and you should be back on your feet soon. But for now at least, you’re still in a lot of pain and you’ve also had a bit of a shock, so I’m going to get you some decent painkillers, okay?” She smiles kindly at V before exiting the room to find something suitable.

V slowly shifts to a sitting position on the sofa, wincing at the pain. He looks at his friend numbly, but the gratitude is still evident on his face. “Thank you, J-Hope,” V says softly. It’s the first time he’s initiated conversation since J-Hope and LE found him in the alleyway and J-Hope chooses to take this as a good sign.

“It’s okay. I just want you to be alright, mate. I do care, you know?” he responds seriously, trying to make eye contact with V, but V keeps his head turned away. It looks like he’s scared of seeming vulnerable, even though he couldn’t possibly be in a more vulnerable position right now.

“I know,” V replies tightly, and J-Hope can tell just from those two words that there’s something important V isn’t telling him.

“You have to talk to me,” J-Hope says firmly.

For the first time since arriving at J-Hope’s house, V looks directly at him. “Okay.” He says it so quietly that J-Hope almost doesn’t hear it, but he’s been waiting to have this conversation since he found V curled in on himself on the floor and he’s not about to miss the opportunity.

“Whatever it is, I’m not going to judge you,” J-Hope reminds him.

“I don’t know where to begin,” V says sadly.

“Why don’t you start with what you were doing before those arseholes arrived?” J-Hope suggests gently.

V sighs resignedly. Script or no script, he’s got to tell him some time. “Okay. Fine. Right, this might come as a bit of a shock, but…” He looks at J-Hope nervously. “I was making out with someone.”

J-Hope snorts. “Wow.” He chuckles lightly. “For a second there you had me thinking it would be something genuinely surprising. Seriously V, if you think that’s shocking –”

“No, I mean, it’s not – I wasn’t. I mean… I.” V pauses, trying to gather his thoughts. J-Hope attempts to conceal his laughter at the blatant personality change as V stumbles over his words.

As V continues to struggle to find the right words, J-Hope sobers up a little, realising that V must be taking this moment quite seriously (even if he himself is struggling to). He doesn’t want to jeopardise his friend’s trust or end up not finding out what happened, so he holds back the laughter and tries his best to appear supportive. “Go on,” he prompts with an encouraging smile.

“I,” V repeats. He looks down at the ground, his face hidden from view by the hair that falls in front of it. “Okay. It was a guy. I was kissing a guy, and. We’re kind of dating. I – that’s why those guys decided to come over and started beating the shit out of me. They saw us kissing and, well, apparently they had a problem with it.”

J-Hope looks at V in shock. A guy, huh? V’s right – J-Hope definitely didn’t see this coming. But all it does is make him wonder how much else V has kept secret from him.

The thought alone makes him feel a bit upset. Being straight, he’s never had problems of this sort, but he’s known Suga since before he came out at school and he knows from second-hand experience just how tough it can be. But one useful thing he learnt from that experience was just how important it is to give a kind and supportive response to somebody sharing their sexuality, even if you’re struggling to process the new information so quickly.

“Is that why you were worried about telling me?” J-Hope asks gently, deciding to save his other questions for later. When V nods slightly, a piece of J-Hope’s heart crumbles. “V… you know that I would never think of you differently.”

“Oh,” V responds quietly, apparently only just discovering that he didn’t have to hide this part of him, and J-Hope tries hard not to visibly wince. If the boy who he calls his best friend didn’t even know that him liking guys wouldn’t changing anything, J-Hope really isn’t doing his job of ‘best friend’ properly.

“You can date whoever you want,” J-Hope continues, eager to help V feel more comfortable. “It’s got nothing to do with me anyway. But I’ll support you every step of the way, okay? This could never change anything. You’re still my best friend.”

V looks up at J-Hope and smiles. It’s a small, barely-there smile, but it’s something. Especially after what he’s been through tonight, it’s definitely something. “Thank you,” V repeats, more sincerely this time.

“It’s okay,” J-Hope repeats, feeling much lighter. “Come on, let’s hug it out!”

“I can’t; I’m injured,” V protests weakly, but J-Hope leans over the side of the sofa and smothers him anyway. He pats V on the back, maybe a little too hard considering he’s already in enough pain, but V appears to appreciate the gesture regardless.

“You really don’t mind?” he asks after a minute, once J-Hope is sitting back down opposite him.

“Of course not,” J-Hope grins. “I just can’t believe I assumed your date tonight was with Jennie, when your fuck-buddy is actually a _guy_.”

“My boyfriend,” V corrects automatically, but he looks away embarrassedly when he sees the incredulous look on J-Hope’s face. “He’s my boyfriend,” he repeats quietly. He quite likes the way the words roll off his tongue. _Jungkook – his boyfriend._ He’s never said it out loud before.

“I – okay,” J-Hope says, still in shock. “Uh. Well. God, okay.” He then plasters a bright smile on his face, a little worried that he’s fucked up by being so surprised. “Your boyfriend. Sure. How long have you been dating?”

“Oh _shit_ , I need to tell him I’m okay,” V says in sudden realisation. He reaches for his phone on the side table, but in his haste he knocks it off the edge. He groans at his own stupidity, his body hurting too much for him to reach round and pick it up.

J-Hope laughs at V’s dramatics and hands his phone back to him. “If we’re telling people, I think we need to speak to your parents first.”

V sighs. “I guess you’re right.” He looks down at his phone and groans again. “I only have 20% battery – there’s no way it’ll last a phone call to my parents _and_ to – um. You know.”

J-Hope chuckles. “Hey, how about you transfer the numbers and we can ring them from my phone?”

“Yeah, okay, that works,” V agrees, before erupting into a coughing fit.

As the coughing subsides J-Hope shakes his head, struggling to come to terms with the state his best friend has got himself into. “From the sounds of it, you really shouldn’t be speaking right now anyway,” J-Hope contemplates.

V shoots him a queasy smile.

After Mrs Jung delivers V a couple of painkillers and a glass of water, which he consumes eagerly, J-Hope passes his phone to V and lets him type in the number for his mother’s mobile phone.

Somewhat expectedly, V lets J-Hope struggle with relaying the message to his mother all alone, because he really doesn’t want to get involved and have to hear her worried questions or demands of who hurt him. And if explaining it will mean he has to tell her the truth about him and Jungkook, he thinks an explanation can definitely wait.

But when V gives J-Hope Jungkook’s number, he insists that J-Hope should put the phone on speaker so that he can hear what’s happening.

The phone starts ringing and V holds his breath apprehensively. He’s not entirely sure what J-Hope will do when he realises who it is on the other end of the line. He wants to mention it – to be able to finally, properly tell someone that Jungkook is his boyfriend – but the words keep getting stuck in his throat.

Either way, he’s hoping J-Hope will figure it out eventually.

It only rings a couple times before the line clicks and a vaguely familiar voice greets J-Hope with a breathless “Hello?”

“Hi, is this –” J-Hope cuts off, looking at the phone embarrassedly. “I actually don’t know who this is meant to be.”

“Who is this?” the voice asks in response.

“J-Hope,” he responds easily. Then, after a pause, “Um, I’m V’s friend?”

“I know who you are; I was just shocked,” the boy chuckles lightly. “No offence, but, why are you calling me? We never really talk? Also how did you get my number?”

“Wait, we talk at all?” J-Hope asks in surprise. He looks at V for an explanation, but V is avoiding his gaze.

“You have no idea who you’re talking to, do you,” the voice deadpans.

“Okay, look, no I don’t, but V’s here with me and he’s dosed up on meds and –”

“Wait, V’s with you?” the voice interrupts urgently. “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” J-Hope sighs. “My mum’s a nurse and she checked up on him so don’t worry. But he gave me this number for his boyfriend, and said that you’d be worried, so –”

“Wait, what?!” the boy splutters, interrupting him for the second time. J-Hope wills himself not to get frustrated: as V warned him he would be, the poor boy’s probably just concerned. “He _told_ you?” the voice asks incredulously on the other end of the line.

“Told me what?” J-Hope asks, a little confused by the boy’s outburst. Didn’t he want people to know they were dating? Is he closeted as well?

“Well, that he’s – and that I’m… you know. I just – I wasn’t expecting – I thought… Uh, I’m in shock. A little. Um.”

It’s only in this moment, when the boy on the other end of the line is reduced to an awkward, stuttering mess, that J-Hope realises where he’s heard his voice before. _“Jungkook?!”_ he splutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand we’re ending on a cliffhanger hahah
> 
> this chapter turned out longer than I expected it to but I hope you enjoyed it regardless! hopefully I won’t end up rewriting the entire next chapter as well lmao, so that should be out a lot sooner than this one was ^-^ I’m so hyped to see what you think of this lol I hope it wasn’t too dramatic, idk it’s calmer than it was before I rewrote it at least so yay
> 
> thank you again for being so patient, and remember to leave a comment if you feel like it because I love knowing what you think!! :’) see you next time! ^.^
> 
> p.s. WHO’S EXCITED FOR EXID’S COMEBACK BECAUSE I AM


	25. laced with confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J-Hope finds out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter starts from Jungkook’s perspective, so there’s a little overlap in dialogue from the end of the last chapter (in case you’re wondering why the phone call looks so familiar lol yes, it’s the same one)
> 
> this was originally over 12k which I thought was a bit too long haha so I’ve split it into two parts - the next part should be up next week and you’ll get to see more of J-Hope’s reaction, but for now, I’ve left you guys hanging long enough. so without any further ado, let’s go! hope you enjoy! :)

After Jungkook finishes relaying the story of what happened with Taehyung to his mother – omitting some details, of course, because there’s no way he’s going to explain to his mother just how compromising a position they were found in – he’s feeling pretty exhausted.

“Are you okay?” his mother asks him gently. She really hopes that the bullying won’t become a theme – she’s already had to pull her son out of one school because of it. She doesn’t plan on moving him around again without getting some justice.

“I’m okay,” he says tiredly. “I just hope Taehyung is. Maybe I should go out and look for him… Mum, what if he’s still out there? What if he’s really badly hurt?”

“Sweetie, I know this sounds awful, but I’m not letting you go back out there again. If the other boys are still there hurting him, you could get hurt too. And then what would have been the point?” She gestures for him to come to her for a hug and he obliges. He needs all the comfort he can get right now. “How about your father and I get in the car and drive down there to pick him up? You can sit in the back and give us directions so we’ll know –”

Her voice is cut off by Jungkook’s ringtone.

He gets out his phone in surprise, ignoring the way his mother looks at him disapprovingly. Most people text nowadays and Jungkook hardly ever receives phone calls, especially from unknown numbers like this one. Who knows, this might be important. “Hello?” he answers, his voice a little breathless from anticipation.

When Jungkook realises that it’s J-Hope on the other end of the line, he feels more than a little confused about why he’s calling him, but as soon as J-Hope mentions V’s name, Jungkook’s brain short-circuits. “Wait, V’s with you?” he asks urgently, tapping his mum’s shoulder incessantly to get her attention. She looks over at Jungkook and he feels sure that her hopeful expression is mirrored on his own face. “Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine,” J-Hope says from the other end of the line. “My mum’s a nurse and she checked up on him so don’t worry. But he gave me this number for his boyfriend, and said that you’d be worried, so –”

“Wait, what?! He _told_ you?” Jungkook splutters, completely shell-shocked. _Boyfriend._ Taehyung has actually called him his boyfriend – and to his best friend.

Well, if this doesn’t make it official…

“Told me what?” J-Hope asks, sounding oddly confused.

Jungkook almost rolls his eyes: is it not obvious? “Well, that he’s – and that I’m…” he falters. His brain still hasn’t caught up with what’s happened and it’s making it difficult to string a complete sentence together. “You know. I just – I wasn’t expecting – I thought… Uh, I’m in shock. A little. Um.”

 _“Jungkook?!”_ J-Hope asks incredulously on the other end of the line.

Jungkook flat-out laughs at his reaction. Trust J-Hope to only recognise him when he stammers. “Yeah, that’s me.”

He hears hushed whispering – something that sounds like “what the – _how_ –” followed by “shut up a sec, I’ll explain later, okay?”, along with a lot of rustling, until a second voice filters through the silence. “Jungkook?”

Taehyung’s voice is hoarse, but Jungkook doesn’t think he’s ever been so glad to hear it. “Hi,” he breathes. “Are you okay?” He knows J-Hope thinks he’s fine, but Jungkook has to make sure.

“I’m okay,” Taehyung confirms.

Jungkook’s mother is attentively watching Jungkook’s facial expressions to see the verdict, so Jungkook shoots her a thumbs up.

“Oh, by the way, you’re on speaker,” Taehyung adds.

“Oh. Okay,” Jungkook nods, switching Taehyung’s name to V inside his head so that he doesn’t get mixed up.  “So, er – you told him.”

“I mean, pretty much,” V says with a nervous chuckle. “Although he made it pretty hard _not_ to tell him. After he and LE caught those idiots throwing punches at me, he kind of demanded an explanation.”

Jungkook winces at the image. “How much does he know?” he asks warily.

“Not everything…” V falters. “Just that we’re dating. I haven’t really had a chance to go through anything else yet.”

“How much else is there?” he hears J-Hope ask sceptically in the background. V laughs weakly, but Jungkook can tell that his voice sounds croaky, even through the mobile’s bad audio.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jungkook asks insistently. “You sound kind of rough.”

“He looks it too,” J-Hope comments.

“Can I come over?” Jungkook says impulsively. “I mean. That’s probably really presumptuous, sorry. I just…”

“I’d like you to come over,” V says quietly. “I think I’ll need you here with me to fall asleep tonight.”

Jungkook smiles proudly at how open V is being in front of J-Hope. This is _definitely_ progress.

“Do you remember where it is?” V asks on the other end of the line. Then, before Jungkook has a chance to respond, “Could you give him the address? Is that okay?”

Jungkook hears the phone being passed over again and then J-Hope recites his address, sounding oddly put-together for someone who’s just found out his best friend has been in a secret relationship for the better part of 6 months. Only then does it occur to Jungkook that J-Hope couldn’t possibly know the full extent of the relationship, and Jungkook can’t help but wonder what J-Hope will do when he realises just how long this has been going on.

“I’ll give you a lift,” his mother offers after Jungkook puts down the phone.

“That’s okay; it’s close enough to walk,” Jungkook answers instinctively.

“I’m not letting you walk there on your own. It’s a Friday night, it’s getting late, it’s dark and those boys could still be out there, Jungkook.” She’s using her stern voice, which is always difficult to argue with, but Jungkook supposes that she’s right anyway.

“Okay. Thanks mum,” he says gratefully. “Let me grab some overnight stuff and then we can get going.”

 

***

 

“Oh my God, you look absolutely awful” is the first thing that comes out of Jungkook’s mouth when he walks through the living room door and sees the state that V is in.

“Good to see you too,” V snorts.

“Seriously T–” Jungkook coughs and makes unintelligible sounds for a couple of seconds as J-Hope looks at him in alarm.

Jungkook smiles tightly in response, assuring him that, yes, he’s fine.

V raises his eyebrows in slight amusement and Jungkook sighs. “Seriously babe, what were you thinking?”

V’s eyes widen at the unexpected term of endearment, feeling his words get stuck in his throat, but thankfully he recovers quickly. “I was thinking that I would protect you,” he replies honestly.

“But look at what you did to yourself,” Jungkook points out weakly. He isn’t sure his heart can handle the sight of his boyfriend looking so beaten up and he can’t stop replaying the memory of it all in his head, wondering what he could have done differently.

“Doesn’t matter,” V shrugs. “You got away.”

“I know, but…” Jungkook trails off, only just seeming to notice J-Hope. “Um, thanks for letting me come over, by the way.”

J-Hope doesn’t respond, too busy staring at him. He asks incredulously, “Have you been _crying_?”

Jungkook hurriedly wipes his eyes and cheeks with the backs of his hands before answering (very convincingly), “ _No._ ”

J-Hope bites back a surprised laugh at the response and turns to his best friend, probably expecting him to be amused as well, but V only seems concerned and J-Hope doesn’t understand how on earth all of this happened without him noticing.

He looks between the two of them again and shakes his head in wonder. “Okay, knowing you two are together will definitely take a bit of getting used to, but regardless of whether I already know you or not, I need to ask,” he says to Jungkook. “Why did you leave? If you were there at the time, why did you desert V and just _let_ him get attacked?”

Jungkook’s face falls. “I know I shouldn’t have gone. I wasn’t thinking, I –”

“No, stop,” V interrupts him. He looks at J-Hope. “I told him to go. I didn’t want him getting hurt too.”

J-Hope raises his eyebrows. “So you went through this deliberately? Just to stop your boyfriend from getting hurt?” V and Jungkook both blush when J-Hope says ‘boyfriend’ and J-Hope resists the temptation to roll his eyes.

“I mean – yeah,” V replies. He isn’t sure how else to put it.

J-Hope watches V contemplatively for a second, as if he’s trying to figure him out. “You… actually _care_ …” he says, extremely confused. He’s never seen V act like this about anyone before. He turns to Jungkook sceptically. “How long have you been dating?”

“Uh…” Jungkook answers, because really, he doesn’t even know himself. This time it’s been about a month, but Jungkook knows that he started falling for V way back, ever since that day at the beach when Jungkook dropped his ice cream in the sand and was attacked by a small dog.

“On and off for a while, I guess,” V replies for him. V looks away quickly when J-Hope shoots him a concerned look; he knows that J-Hope is silently asking about Jennie and he really doesn’t have the energy to go through this right now.

“I think you owe me an explanation,” J-Hope says gently but firmly.

“I know I do…” V’s voice sounds pained, even with the painkillers in his system. J-Hope wonders whether this pain is more psychological. “And I’ll tell you all about it, I swear. But can you please just give me a minute alone with Kookie?”

J-Hope raises his eyebrows at the nickname but doesn’t say a word as he obediently leaves the room, which gives Jungkook a chance to hit Taehyung weakly on the arm for being so stupid.

“What do you mean?” Taehyung asks, a lazy smile spreading across his face. He feels his eyes starting to lose focus and yep, those painkillers are definitely kicking in. Taehyung finds himself suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to go to sleep.

But no. There are more important things to focus on right now. Like Jungkook.

“Tae, seriously. There was enough time for me to get away. We could’ve both gone! You didn’t have to endure… this.” Jungkook looks sadly at Taehyung’s bruised body as he perches on the edge of the sofa, wishing that he’d reacted differently. “I just left. I should’ve checked you were okay, I should’ve –”

“You should’ve gone, like you did,” Taehyung interrupts him gently. “Wouldn’t it have been such a waste if I’d let myself get beaten up for you and then you’d come back and got hurt anyway?” He smiles weakly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Jungkook.”

“You could’ve got away,” Jungkook repeats sadly.

Taehyung takes hold of Jungkook’s hands, threading their fingers together. “Think about it, Kookie. If we’d both run away then they would’ve chased after us. You could’ve got hurt. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“But now you’re hurt,” Jungkook insists adamantly.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as it would’ve hurt to see you get beaten up by those douchebags,” Taehyung reasons. He’s now looking at Jungkook’s face more closely – close enough to see the dried tear tracks on his cheeks, and he can’t help himself from asking, “Why were you crying?”

Jungkook’s gaze shifts to the ground, refusing to respond and wishing that he’d thought to look in a mirror before coming over.

Taehyung looks down at Jungkook’s hands that are resting on top of his own, before looking back up at Jungkook apprehensively. “I want to ask you something. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but… you seemed really scared back there. Those bullies at your old school – is that the type of thing they did to you? Did they hurt you?” Taehyung feels almost scared to look at Jungkook’s face, worried about the answers that might be evident from his expression alone. He swears to God, if anyone ever tries to hurt Jungkook again…

“Not really,” Jungkook replies honestly. “I mean, a couple times, but. It was mainly just words.” He frowns, thinking back on the incidents at his old school that, despite all his efforts, he still hasn’t managed to forget. “I sometimes wonder whether being punched in the face might’ve hurt less, though. At least it doesn’t make you question your whole existence. You know, their eyes were the same: that intent to do damage…” Jungkook shakes his head, trying to clear the memories from his brain. “Anyway. That’s in the past now. We live, we learn, we move on.”

“When did you get so wise?” Taehyung grins fondly.

“Enough about me,” Jungkook says seriously. “Are _you_ okay? I can’t help but think – I mean. You worrying about something like this happening is what messed things up with us before…” He gulps. He knows that he needs to ask, but he’s afraid to hear the answer.

“I suppose I’m slowly realising that some people are worth enduring the pain for,” Taehyung says with a soft smile.

Jungkook feels himself let out a relieved breath, but still he scoffs at the statement. “How many drugs did J-Hope give you? You’re being such a sap.”

Taehyung ignores the question, instead choosing to hold his arms out, inviting Jungkook onto the sofa with him. “Lie down with me.”

“There’s not much room,” Jungkook laughs. He pushes away Taehyung’s inviting hands.

“If there’s enough room for me, there’s enough room for you too,” Taehyung says surely, showcasing his signature boxy smile. And that’s totally not fair because he knows that Jungkook can’t resist it.

“What if I end up lying on your bruises and hurt you even more?” Jungkook protests as he climbs over Taehyung to slot himself against the side of the sofa, so that one arm is wrapped around Taehyung’s torso and the other is clutching onto the armrest, making sure that he doesn’t fall off.

“You could never hurt me,” Taehyung mumbles, eyes already closing from the sudden onset of sleepiness. “I think the meds are kicking in.”

“Okay,” Jungkook whispers, dropping a kiss to Taehyung’s cheek. “Get some rest, okay babe?”

“Babe?” Taehyung questions the nickname, wondering whether he’s already started dreaming.

“I noticed your reaction to me saying it earlier,” Jungkook chuckles by way of explanation. And Taehyung can’t fault that reasoning. But before he can think of a coherent response, sleep begins to take over his body and he can’t fight the exhaustion any longer.

“Sweet dreams,” he hears a voice murmur in his ear as soft fingers card through his hair; the last thing he’s aware of before he falls fast asleep.

 

***

 

When J-Hope returns to the living room after a reasonable 10 minutes, he’s more than a little surprised to see Jungkook lying on the sofa, practically on top of V. Jungkook is mindlessly scrolling through Tumblr on his phone, but when he senses somebody else’s presence in the room, he looks up to see J-Hope staring. J-Hope would laugh at the expression on his face if he wasn’t so surprised himself: Jungkook looks like a deer caught in headlights.

“You’re lying on my best friend,” J-Hope states dumbly. Honestly he’s a little unsure of what to say.

“He asked me to…” Jungkook responds awkwardly.

J-Hope grimaces. “Right. Of course he did. Well, I guess I’ll just leave you be…” He sits down on the sofa opposite V and Jungkook, pulls out a textbook from his school bag and begins to leaf through it.

Jungkook coughs awkwardly. “What are you doing?”

J-Hope looks up at him, one eyebrow cocked. “Studying?”

Jungkook blushes, but he perseveres. “Are you staying here then?”

“I’m not going to leave my best friend,” J-Hope says pointedly. “What if something happens to him? I need to be on full alert.”

“Oh. Okay,” Jungkook replies shortly, feeling more than a little exposed. He feels like J-Hope hasn’t really given him a proper answer, but he feels too awkward to question it any further.

Eventually J-Hope gets bored of work and excuses himself to go get ready for bed, by which point Jungkook is already feeling sleepy enough to set aside his phone and snuggle up close to his boyfriend, resting his eyes for just a second…

 

***

 

After about 40 minutes or so, J-Hope sufficiently gathers enough mental strength to go back downstairs. (How dare they exert such blatant PDA in his own house?) He walks into the living room, relieved to see both boys sound asleep, and settles himself down on the sofa. He’s not entirely sure what he’s doing here, but he told his mum that they’d all be sleeping in the same room and even if she’s already gone to sleep, he doesn’t want to break his promise.

J-Hope reaches for the remote and turns on the TV, but he drops the remote in surprise when the sound comes out at full volume. He scrabbles for it slightly and manages to mute the TV in record time, and if he’s shaking slightly from the shock then it’s nobody’s business but his. J-Hope doesn’t trust himself enough with the TV remote to touch it again, so he just leaves it on some crappy gameshow that he doesn’t even understand the rules to.

V stirs slightly, clearly disturbed from sleep by the loud noise (of the TV or of J-Hope scrabbling, no one’s sure). V blearily opens his eyes, taking a moment to adjust to his surroundings, but his eyes soften when he realises that the heavy weight on top of him is his boyfriend. His _boyfriend_. It’s official now. He finds himself grinning at Jungkook happily, filled with adoration at just how _cute_ Jungkook looks when he’s asleep –

“You’re staring,” J-Hope drags him out of his thoughts.

“Oh,” V says in surprise, looking over at J-Hope, who’s perched on the edge of the sofa, looking slightly riled up. “I forgot you were here.” He then turns his attention to the TV, the bright colours catching his eye. He frowns. “Is this really the type of thing you watch on TV?”

“No!” J-Hope huffs, turning off the TV stroppily.

“Chill, dude, it was just a question,” V snorts.

J-Hope rolls his eyes, but he sets the TV remote down more calmly than before (although really that’s not saying much). “So. You and Jungkook, huh?”

“Yeah,” V smiles, turning his attention back to his boyfriend. V adjusts his arm around Jungkook’s waist, hugging him closer, and his heartbeat picks up when Jungkook clutches him tighter in his sleep. Wow, he is so gone.

He then sighs, turning back to the now blank TV so that he doesn’t have to look at J-Hope’s reaction. “Look, I know I have a lot to explain –”

“If you’re happy, that’s all there is to it, right?” J-Hope cuts him off.

V looks at him in surprise.

“You are happy, aren’t you?” J-Hope reiterates.

Really, he would like to know on earth all of this happened without anyone noticing, but he can tell that V is reluctant to talk about it and he doesn’t want to push him any more today. It’s been tough enough for him as it is.

“The happiest I’ve been in a long time,” V replies honestly.

“Then who am I to demand an explanation?” J-Hope concludes, and V smiles at him gratefully. “But really, I don’t get how this could have happened under all of our noses. You must really be serious about each other to put up with sneaking around like this,” J-Hope considers. “Is Jungkook okay with that? He’s already out, right?” he adds as an afterthought.

V bites his lip. “He would definitely prefer something out in the open,” he admits. “But he also understands that I’m not ready for that yet.”

J-Hope chances another glance at Jungkook and almost does a double-take at the way he’s clinging to V in his sleep. If it wasn’t apparent enough earlier when Jungkook arrived, it’s definitely apparent now – even when he’s asleep, he looks completely smitten.

“He’s good to you,” J-Hope observes softly. “Hold onto him.”

“I intend to,” V responds, pulling Jungkook closer.

Jostled by the contact, Jungkook whines and snuggles closer to V, trying to block out the light. “Whas gon on?” he mumbles, practically incoherently. “T–”

“Shh,” V hushes him. “Go back to sleep, babe.”

“Ba…?” Jungkook questions, cutting himself off with a yawn. His eyes open fully as he understands what V is hinting at; he needs to call V ‘babe’, not ‘Tae’. J-Hope must be in the room. “Oh. Okay,” he agrees quietly, settling his head on V’s shoulder and closing his eyes again.

“Goodnight,” V chuckles, amused by Jungkook’s half-awake state.

“Night, babe,” Jungkook whispers against his neck. He falls back to sleep almost instantaneously.

“He calls you ‘babe’ a lot,” J-Hope says with a raised eyebrow.

V feels himself blushing. “Oh. Yeah. He’s only doing that because you’re here,” he explains (insufficiently).

J-Hope blanches. “He’s just doing that to make me feel uncomfortable? _Rude_.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” V laughs. “He’s used to calling me by my actual name, that’s all.”

“What do you mean your actual –” J-Hope cuts himself off mid-sentence. He’s been calling his best friend ‘V’ for so long that he kind of forgot it isn’t his given name. “ _Oh._ You mean – you told him your real name? Before _me_?” J-Hope adds indignantly.

“I may have done,” V responds dignifiedly.

“So… it’s really serious then?” J-Hope asks. He’s still struggling to wrap his head around the whole thing. “You’re not just going to drop him after 3 weeks? Lose interest in him after a month or so?” V may be his best friend, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about Jungkook’s wellbeing as well. He doesn’t want Jungkook getting hurt just because V’s abnormally short attention span doesn’t mix well with long-term relationships.

V shakes his head. “It’s already been longer than that. But… it’s serious to me, J-Hope. I know –” He cuts himself off uncomfortably, before breathing in shakily and trying again. “I know that you’ve never seen me care that much about another person, at least not relationship-wise, and you and the others probably don’t think I’m capable. But it’s not like that with Jungkook.” He gives J-Hope a small smile and hopes that’s enough for now.

J-Hope seems to accept it, so they move on and talk about other things; unimportant things like Hani’s blind date tomorrow and Suga’s Chemistry test that he’s certain he failed and LE’s extra shift at the café that she’s been complaining about all week.

After a while, J-Hope excuses himself to go to bed, but when he stands up to leave he hesitates and V looks at him questioningly.

“Did you want some makeup wipes?” he asks, and V doesn’t know why J-Hope is being so awkward about it until he elaborates, “I know you don’t like other people seeing you without makeup, but you really shouldn’t sleep with it on.”

V thinks back on all the times he’s slept in his makeup before, just so that the next morning nobody would wake up before him and see him bare-faced. He thinks about the insecurity he feels when other people see him without his eyeliner on, even if it’s his closest friends, and then he thinks about how he never had those insecurities with Jungkook. But maybe that’s because with Jungkook, he was never trying to hide who he really was.

V realises that J-Hope is still awaiting an answer, so he smiles at him reassuringly. “It’s okay. He’s seen me without makeup before.”

“Oh,” J-Hope says in surprise, but then he deflates. “Well. I guess that makes sense. Okay – I’ll bring some down for you, then.”

“Thanks,” V says, although he can’t help but notice the way J-Hope feels uncomfortable. He can only hope that it’s because he’s been hiding things from him rather than because of the relationship itself.

After removing his makeup and saying goodnight to J-Hope, V settles down further onto the cushions on the sofa for the night, resting his head against Jungkook’s as he falls back to sleep.

 

 

***

 

Jungkook wakes up to the uncomfortable feeling of really needing the toilet.

He shifts in his position, ready to roll out of bed, but something wrapped around his waist is holding him in place. He forces his eyes open, beyond confused, but then he gets a glimpse of Taehyung in the darkness, cuddling close to him in his sleep and everything comes rushing back to him – all the events of the previous night, leading up to when he fell asleep on the sofa with Taehyung.

He smiles, staring at Taehyung’s face. It seems so peaceful like this, when he’s fast asleep.

Jungkook lets himself enjoy the view for a little longer before attempting to squirm out of his grip.

As it happens, Taehyung is a very huggy sleeper and is also surprisingly strong for someone who’s not awake.

“Tae,” Jungkook murmurs, tugging gently at Taehyung’s hands. He doesn’t want to be rough with him, especially with how much he got hurt last night. “Tae, let me go,” he insists, a little louder this time.

Taehyung’s grip tightens. “No,” he whines, his eyes still closed.

Jungkook huffs out a laugh. “I need the toilet. I have to get up.”

Taehyung groans, cracking one eye open to glare at Jungkook. “Fine.”

He relinquishes his hold on Jungkook, who rolls off the sofa gratefully. “Do you know where the bathroom is?” he asks once he’s standing up, somewhat anxious. He isn’t used to waking up in an unfamiliar house.

“Just down the hallway, impossible to miss.” Taehyung’s mumbling a little, his voice still sleepy, and Jungkook can’t keep the fond smile off his face. He’s about to leave when Taehyung grabs his wrist, looking at him innocently. “Hurry back.”

Jungkook smiles at him softly. “I will.”

He successfully navigates his way to the bathroom and by the time he returns, Taehyung is fully awake.

“I’m back now,” Jungkook announces unnecessarily as he climbs back onto the sofa, his thighs bracketing Taehyung’s body. “Did you want to cuddle again until we fall asleep?”

Taehyung shrugs. “I’m not tired.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows, faintly amused. “What do you want to do then? It’s a bit early to get up.”

Taehyung looks at him curiously. “Did you see what the time is?”

Jungkook nods. “I saw the clock in the kitchen on the way to the bathroom. It’s only 5:15.”

Taehyung smiles cheekily, his hands coming up to Jungkook’s shoulders before sliding them down over his arms, feeling his muscles appreciatively. “Perfect.”

“How so?” Jungkook smirks, but he thinks he knows what Taehyung is getting at. He allows his hands to slip under Taehyung’s t-shirt, where they come to rest on his hips.

“Well,” Taehyung hums contemplatively, moving his hands indulgently down Jungkook’s body to grip at his thighs. “It’s super early. No one’s awake – and it’s the weekend, so they won’t be up for a while.” He looks up at Jungkook, a sultry look in his eyes, and Jungkook stares back just as intently.

“What were you thinking?” Jungkook asks, his voice low as he leans in closer to Taehyung.

Taehyung gulps, trying to slow down his heartbeat enough to get out his next sentence. “How about we pick up from where we left off last night?” he suggests and then Jungkook’s lips are hot on his, their bodies pressing so close together that the heat is almost stifling.

They’re both impatient and after only a few minutes, Jungkook’s hands have found their way to Taehyung’s belt loops and the anticipation makes Taehyung’s mind go hazy. “Jungkook,” he whimpers against Jungkook’s lips, already sounding completely wrecked and Jungkook swallows the sound, kissing him harder.

Taehyung lets him take control, drowning in the way Jungkook licks into his mouth and kisses him with intent, like he’s done this a thousand times before. If someone were to tell Taehyung right now just how inexperienced Jungkook was, he’s not sure he would believe them. Not when he makes Taehyung feel this _good_. Not when Jungkook is kissing him so urgently; so frantically; as if everything would never be enough.

Jungkook’s lips trail down Taehyung’s neck, kissing at the smooth skin as he starts to grind against Taehyung. “ _Jungkook_ ,” Taehyung moans, louder this time, his mind blanking on anything that isn’t Jungkook’s name as he tugs at his boyfriend’s hair desperately, begging for more. ~~~~

“Oh, _fucking hell_ ,” a voice yelps and they both freeze.

“J-Hope?” V asks carefully after a few seconds of silence.

The main light turns on and Jungkook blinks rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness.

“Jesus Christ, you guys,” J-Hope complains, walking closer to them.

“Why the fuck are you up,” V groans, not even bothering to hide his disdain. He moves his hands reluctantly from Jungkook’s thighs, wrapping his arms around Jungkook’s waist protectively and pulling his boyfriend closer. He presses a kiss to Jungkook’s temple, trying to help him relax, because he knows that Jungkook will feel awkward at being caught in such a compromising position. (It’s like a repeat of last night, except for the fact that this time presumably V won’t get beaten up for it. He wonders irritably why he and Jungkook have to keep getting interrupted.)

“My mum’s leaving soon for work – 6am shift,” J-Hope explains, calming down slightly now that he’s walked fully into the room and can see that everybody still has their clothes on. “I came to wake you up. She can’t see you sleeping together on the sofa.”

“Why not?” Jungkook frowns. J-Hope looks at him carefully and Jungkook instinctively hides his face in V’s neck so that J-Hope can’t see his cheeks, still tinged pink from embarrassment.

“Because she’d kill me if she knew you two were together and I let you sleep in the same room,” J-Hope sighs tiredly. “She always makes couples sleep separately, just in case anything _happens_.” J-Hope rolls his eyes. “I always thought it was ridiculous, because who would be stupid enough to try something while there were parents in the house?” He looks at them both pointedly. “I suppose now I have to admit that she has a point.”

V smiles guiltily. He doesn’t try to deny it.

J-Hope rolls his eyes. “I actually said that I would be sleeping in here with you,” he continues. “And I was kind of planning on it, just for the continuity, but then I realised I’d be third-wheeling in my own house, so I had second thoughts.”

Jungkook sighs and sits up on the sofa, taking pity on J-Hope.  He scratches his head sleepily and looks at J-Hope pleadingly, as if to say ‘can I just stay here?’

Before J-Hope has a chance to respond, his mother appears in the doorway. “Oh, you’re up,” she says in surprise, looking around at the three teenagers.

J-Hope nods. “I woke up to say goodbye, and the others woke up when I did. You know what I’m like in the morning, crashing into things,” he chuckles. It’s amazing how convincing he sounds and Jungkook wishes that he had J-Hope’s skill of thinking up ordinary explanations on the spot, rather than the weird lies he always comes up with that make him look like a complete idiot. “They said they wanted to thank you for all your help last night,” J-Hope finishes and Mrs Jung smiles.

“Oh, well that’s very kind of you boys, but it was really no bother. Anyway, are you really all sleeping in here? There’s not much room.” she asks with a frown. She then looks at J-Hope critically. “You didn’t let Jungkook sleep on the floor, did you?”

“I slept on the other sofa,” Jungkook replies immediately, not wanting to get J-Hope in trouble.

“The other sofa doesn’t look slept on…” Mrs Jung says sceptically.

“I fluffed the pillows,” Jungkook responds without hesitation. At Mrs Jung’s confused look, Jungkook hurries to defend his explanation. “I figured it’s the least I can do to restore your living room to its original condition, seeing as you were kind enough to let me stay the night.” He smiles appreciatively and Mrs Jung seems to accept the explanation, which he’s relieved about. J-Hope looks at Jungkook in awe; that has to be the most he’s ever heard Jungkook say in one sentence.

“And what about you?” Mrs Jung asks, turning to her son.

“Oh. I’m the one who slept on the floor,” he admits sheepishly.

She tuts at him, saying something about a bad back if he carries on this way, but she gives him a goodbye hug all the same before going to grab her coat and handbag.

After Mrs Jung leaves for work, V looks at his boyfriend in admiration. “You’re getting good at this whole lying thing,” he commends with a cheeky grin, poking Jungkook in the back with his foot.

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees sadly.

V feels a palpable change in mood as he notices how disappointed Jungkook seems. “Jungkook…” he begins, but Jungkook cuts him off.

“I don’t like lying to everyone,” he blurts out. His eyes then dart nervously to J-Hope, who’s watching them apprehensively, and Jungkook suddenly seems to regret saying anything at all.

“I know,” V acknowledges, feeling just as upset as Jungkook looks. He hates having to do this to him. “I know, Kookie. I don’t like it either.” He looks at the beautiful boy sat with him on the sofa who, for reasons unbeknownst to him, has decided that V is worth sticking around for. V thinks that if it were him, he would have left himself already. “I’m so, so sorry,” he continues, his voice cracking. He reaches his hand out to Jungkook, who automatically entwines their fingers.

“No, don’t,” Jungkook responds, his expression conflicted. “I don’t want an apology. It’s not…”

“It _is_ my fault,” V says decisively.

Jungkook chuckles weakly. “I know. That’s why I decided not to finish my sentence.”

“I hate doing this to you,” V mumbles. Although his body is aching all over, his heart is aching more, just looking at the boy who he’s caused so much pain.

“It’s hard for both of us,” Jungkook agrees with a sad smile. He shifts along the sofa until he’s close enough to gently cup V’s cheek with his free hand. “But God knows that it’s worth it.”

V smiles adoringly, flicking away Jungkook’s hand from his face. “Stop it.”

The moment is somewhat interrupted by J-Hope reminding the two that he’s still in the room. “You really like each other, don’t you?” he says with a gentle smile. His expression is contemplative and Jungkook realises with slight embarrassment that J-Hope must have been watching the whole exchange. (Jungkook has the somewhat inconvenient tendency to lose sight of everything and everyone around him when he’s with V.)

“So much,” V replies honestly, taking Jungkook’s free hand in his. V looks over to J-Hope – his so-called best friend and yet someone he’s hardly shared any of himself with. He regrets that now, especially seeing how in his most vulnerable moments J-Hope has been nothing but kind and accepting.

J-Hope nods to Jungkook. “I’m glad you found each other.” He sighs deeply, feeling suddenly worn out after all that’s happened. “I’m heading upstairs. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

J-Hope reaches the doorway before V opens his mouth again. “Thanks for everything.” He says it so quietly that he doesn’t expect J-Hope to hear it, but somehow he does.

“No worries,” J-Hope grins. “What are friends for?” he says with a wink. He then heads out the door, turning off the lights on his way and thereby bathing the room in darkness.

There’s a moment of silence and Taehyung looks over at Jungkook to see him frowning in concentration, so Taehyung pokes him in the cheek. “What are you thinking so hard about?”

“What I could’ve done differently,” Jungkook answers with a sad smile. “You know how much stronger I’ve got this year? I could’ve fought them off. I could’ve protected you –”

“Oh my God, will you _stop_?” Taehyung groans. “I’m fine. Just a couple bruises, no harm done. Will you let it go?”

Jungkook sighs. “Okay.” He stands up and stumbles over to the other sofa, despite Taehyung’s protestations.

“Where are you going?” he whines.

“To bed?” Jungkook responds, slumping against the cushions and propping one under his head to use as a pillow.

“Why are you over there though?” Taehyung asks petulantly.

“I told J-Hope’s mother I slept on this sofa. I’m not going to lie,” Jungkook says stubbornly. He fumbles around on the floor for a blanket he knows he saw earlier when the lights were still on, and soon enough he finds his hands closing around the soft fabric.

“Fine, whatever,” Taehyung grumbles.

Jungkook snorts at the response, pulling the blanket over himself to keep him warm now that he’s not lying alongside a human heater, when all of a sudden he realises the domesticity of the situation and he can’t help but smile. Even after everything that happened yesterday, Taehyung’s now here with him, safe and sound. He feels so grateful that everything ended up okay when it could’ve potentially been a lot worse.

Taehyung’s breathing begins to even out and Jungkook feels his own do the same, relaxed by the presence of someone else in the room. He lets his mind be taken over by images of Taehyung’s adorable face pressed against his shirt from the night before, Taehyung’s carefree smile, Taehyung’s lips pressing goodnight kisses against his cheeks…

Jungkook allows his subconscious to take over his mind as he slips into the space between being awake and asleep. He can feel himself slowly starting to drift off, when –

“Kookie,” Taehyung says quietly.

Never mind.

Jungkook pulls himself back to reality ever so slightly and grunts noncommittally.

“I’m cold,” Taehyung states.

Jungkook grunts again, which Taehyung takes as his invitation to pad over to Jungkook’s sofa and crawl on top of him.

“What are you doing,” Jungkook mumbles as he feels himself being crushed under another human’s body weight. (How did Taehyung cope with this last night?)

“Cuddling you,” Taehyung answers simply, snuggling closer to Jungkook for emphasis.

Jungkook cracks one eye open and watches as Taehyung’s silhouette struggles to get comfortable.

Jungkook sighs in resignation. “Come here,” he mumbles as he shifts the blanket off his chest. He lets Taehyung nuzzle closer and then drapes the blanket round Taehyung’s body. He curls his arms protectively around Taehyung’s form, taking a self-indulgent minute to admire the wonderful, half-asleep boy lying on top of him before he shakes himself out of his thoughts. “Better?” he asks quietly.

“Much,” Taehyung says, and it’s too dark to make out the features of his face, but Jungkook can tell that he’s smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before I wrote this chapter, I never fully appreciated how hard it is to write someone falling asleep. seriously, to everyone who manages to do that well, I commend you
> 
> it made me unbelievably happy to see all your lovely comments on the last chapter, so if you feel like it then please let me know what you thought of this one! ^.^ thank you for reading, I’ll see you soon!


	26. I can feel and I can cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J-Hope realises that V is actually capable of feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> or: J-Hope finds out, part 2. hope you like!!!
> 
> this is a lot of talking things over and basically pure fluff, yay! :P
> 
> I haven't started writing the next chapter yet so the next update may be quite slow, but you can enjoy this in the meantime :))

“Am I going to run into you guys like this each time?” J-Hope sighs exasperatedly after he comes downstairs at 9:30am to see Jungkook and V cuddled together on the sofa.

V opens his eyes blearily at the rude awakening and croaks out a “probably” in response.

J-Hope laughs and moves over to sit on the other sofa, turning on the TV. (Luckily he has more success with it than he did last night.) “This must be the third time by now, and I’ve known about your relationship for less than 24 hours,” J-Hope continues, but the big grin on his face gives it away that he’s only teasing.

“We don’t get much time together, so I guess we go a bit overboard whenever we get the chance,” V admits. He looks to Jungkook for confirmation, only to find that his boyfriend is still fast asleep. V smiles softly and caresses his cheek before sitting upright on the sofa, making sure that he sits far back enough on the seat not to crush Jungkook’s legs. He rearranges the blanket around Jungkook’s shoulders, then turns back around to face J-Hope and makes eye contact with him and blushes; a bright shade of pink that J-Hope doesn’t think he’s ever seen on V’s face before. “I – I’m not usually so –” V falters, not knowing how to describe it. Mushy?

“It’s cool if you are,” J-Hope chuckles. “It’s nice seeing you care about someone. You know, properly.” Since J-Hope has had time to think things through overnight and gather his thoughts, he now feels like he’s getting used to the idea of V’s relationship, even if there are still a lot of things he doesn’t understand. However, there is one main question that’s burning in the back of his mind. He looks at V searchingly for a minute, before he decides that there’s no harm in asking. “So… are you gay? Is this why it never worked out with the others?”

V nods mutely and J-Hope hums thoughtfully.

“So that’s why you could never make yourself care.” His voice is curious and interested, without a hint of judgement. But J-Hope has always been good at reading V, even when he closes himself off. It must be a lot to take in that V successfully hid such an important part of his life.

“I cared about some of them,” V says quietly. “Just not in the right way.” He feels somewhat defensive about it even though he knows J-Hope doesn’t mean anything by it.

J-Hope looks at V sympathetically, and neither of them have to voice their thoughts to know that V is talking about Rosé.

“I loved her, you know,” V says softly. “It wasn’t the love I was supposed to feel, but it was there all the same.” He pauses, staring at the TV so he doesn’t have to see J-Hope’s face.

J-Hope smiles consolingly. “I know.”

V frowns. “You do?”

“I see the way you look at her sometimes, when your guard is down and you think no one’s looking. It’s like you’re always silently asking for forgiveness, for not feeling the right kind of love. I just… never realised that was the reason you couldn’t feel it.” J-Hope looks at him sympathetically and V pauses thoughtfully.

“You know me better than I thought,” he admits.

J-Hope smiles. “I’m your best friend.”

V smiles back. “Yeah.”

They sit there smiling in silence for a moment, both relieved at finally getting things out in the open.

“Oh, I meant to tell you,” J-Hope says suddenly, bringing them both out of the moment. “Your mum called. She’s coming to pick you up. I told her you were fine to stay here, but she seemed to think you need to be at home and surrounded by love.”

V raises his eyebrows.

“Don’t look at me like that!” J-Hope laughs. “She said it, not me.”

“It sounds like something you would say,” V sniggers. “Did she say when she’s coming?”

“Early afternoon, I think,” J-Hope answers.

V groans. “Then why did you have to wake me up now?” he complains. “You could’ve told me later.”

“You don’t even know what the time is,” J-Hope accuses.

“It feels early,” V grumbles.

“It’s 9:30. And I needed to ask you and Jungkook something,” J-Hope responds.

“So it _is_ early,” V states.

“Not as early as 5:30, and you two were up then,” J-Hope points out.

V nods in acknowledgement. “Touché. What’s the question?” He pokes at Jungkook, who’s still fast asleep.

“I’m going to make breakfast, but I need to know what you want before I can buy the provisions,” J-Hope informs him.

V sighs tiredly. “Don’t you have something in the fridge already? You didn’t have to wake us up for that.” He looks at Jungkook again and snorts. “Well, wake _me_ up.”

“No, we have basically nothing. I always do the shopping on Saturday, so we’re kind of low on food right now,” J-Hope explains. “V, you’re going to have to wake him up. I need to know what he wants.”

“Nah, let him sleep,” V chuckles. “He’ll eat anything. Just do whatever you usually do.”

J-Hope raises his eyebrows. “I’m not trusting that. People always say they’re not fussy, and then you give them a meal and they tell you they don’t like it.”

“Jungkook isn’t fussy,” V protests.

“How would _you_ know that?” J-Hope huffs.

V smirks. “We’re dating, remember?”

“You can’t know _that_ much about him,” J-Hope persists.

“Try me,” V states and J-Hope sighs exasperatedly.

“We could argue about this forever. I’m waking him up.”

“No – he looks so peaceful!” V protests, but J-Hope has already leaned over and torn the blanket off their bodies.

V glares at his best friend. “All that did was make me cold, you twat.”

J-Hope frowns. “I thought the sudden change of temperature would wake him up.”

“But the blanket’s mainly on _me_ ,” V explains. “ _I’m_ the thing that’s keeping him warm, and there’s no way you’re making me move.”

J-Hope reaches over again and flicks Jungkook in the forehead, but all Jungkook does is scrunch up his eyebrows in his sleep.

“What the fuck,” J-Hope mutters in wonder.

“Stop attacking him,” V says, mildly annoyed. “He’s a heavy sleeper.”

Before V can stop him, J-Hope reaches over again and starts shaking his shoulders.

“What the – _stop_ ,” V hisses, trying to push J-Hope off, but it’s no use because in doing so he accidentally elbows Jungkook in the face.

“Ow!” Jungkook yelps, opening his eyes immediately and glaring at both of them. “What the hell was that for?”

“It was an accident,” V mumbles, a little embarrassed.

J-Hope snorts. “Not for me, it wasn’t. I wanted you to wake up.”

“I was trying to stop him,” V says apologetically, reaching for Jungkook’s hand and rubbing his thumb over Jungkook’s knuckles consolingly.

Jungkook releases a sigh as his eyes flutter closed again. “Okay, I’m up. What do you want?” he mumbles.

“I’m going to the supermarket to buy food,” J-Hope answers. “What do you want for breakfast?”

Jungkook cracks one eye open again and looks at V, disgruntled. “Why didn’t you just tell him I’d eat whatever?”

“I did,” V protests. “He didn’t believe me.”

Jungkook reluctantly opens his other eye and looks at J-Hope resignedly. “I’ll eat whatever,” he states.

“I gathered,” J-Hope says flatly. “Okay, then I’m making eggs.”

Jungkook sighs, stretching out on the sofa as he pulls V’s body back down on top of him, hugging him close. “Sounds good to me.”

J-Hope watches him, amused. “Glad to see you’ve made yourself at home,” he comments before he starts to search the room for his shoes.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Oh – should I not have – um, sorry, I –”

“Stop making him nervous,” V laughs, interrupting Jungkook’s string of words that no one could really class as a sentence. “He’s only playing,” V explains to Jungkook, cuddling into his side. Jungkook squeezes his arms tighter around his boyfriend, who winces at the contact. “Be careful, Kookie – I’m still injured.”

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Jungkook says in realisation, relaxing his hold on V and pushing them both gently up into a sitting position. He looks at V nervously. “You okay?”

“Fine,” V smiles. He looks at J-Hope, who’s still stomping purposefully around the room. “So are you going to let us starve, or what?”

J-Hope snorts at V’s bluntness. “ _Fine_ , I’m leaving. I guess I’ll just go barefoot.”

V raises his eyebrows. “You left your shoes by the front door last night, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

J-Hope grins. “Thanks, you’re the best!”

“I know!” V calls after him as J-Hope hurries out of the room. He then coughs from the shouting and Jungkook looks at him worriedly, wondering just how badly he’s been hurt.

Taehyung sees Jungkook’s expression and frowns. “What’s up?”

“Can I see?” Jungkook asks tenderly, moving his fingers over Taehyung’s t-shirt questioningly. The bruises have probably come through fully by now.

“Of course,” Taehyung replies softly, so Jungkook lifts up the hem of Taehyung’s shirt and promptly drops it back down again.

“You look like a potato,” he states.

“Well thanks,” Taehyung responds sarcastically. “Just because you have abs of steel –”

“No, you really do look like a potato,” Jungkook says insistently.

“I repeat: thank you.”

“Look down and see for yourself!” Jungkook grumbles. “You’re all bruised.”

Taehyung lifts up his shirt to look down at his own chest and finds that his body really is bruised, and pretty badly at that. There are patches of blue and green spattered across his torso that sting when Jungkook prods at them experimentally. “Stop that,” he hisses.

“Does it hurt?” Jungkook asks interestedly, continuing to poke at him.

“Yes, actually,” Taehyung snaps. Jungkook moves his hands off Taehyung’s chest and pulls his t-shirt back down.

“But, see?” Jungkook says, almost righteously. “Potato.”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows. “My skin has turned blue and green. What the hell have you been doing to your potatoes?”

Jungkook blushes. “You know what I mean…”

“No, really,” Taehyung insists adamantly. “Do you prefer them mouldy or are you just trying to insult me?”

Jungkook pouts. “I happen to be very fond of potatoes, so you should really take it as a compliment.”

“Right, okay,” Taehyung scoffs.

Jungkook grins and leans in impulsively to kiss the scowl off his face. Taehyung responds immediately, but as soon as he tries to deepen the kiss, Jungkook pulls away.

“Tae,” he smirks, “as much as I like kissing you, don’t you think maybe we should brush our teeth first?”

“No can do. By the time I finished getting beaten up by a bunch of homophobes last night, there wasn’t really time to nip into Sainsbury’s for a toothbrush,” Taehyung responds flatly.

Jungkook laughs. “I brought one over from my house,” he explains.

“I’m not using your toothbrush,” Taehyung says, making a disgusted face. “We may be dating, but that’s a little too far.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I brought you a _spare_ one, you twit.” He then blushes and Taehyung looks at him curiously. “I… I thought maybe you could keep it. You know – if you want,” he mumbles.

“But I already have a toothbrush at home,” Taehyung frowns.

“Are you trying to make this difficult?” Jungkook says weakly. “That’s not what I meant. I mean – you can keep it at my house. You know, for when you come over.” He blushes again and looks down at the floor to hide his burning face.

Taehyung grins. “Kookie, you’re adorable, but why are you getting so worked up about a toothbrush?”

“It’s not about the toothbrush; it’s about what the toothbrush _represents_ ,” Jungkook says stubbornly. “You’re so mushy all the time, oh my God. Why aren’t you taking this as seriously as I am?” And sure, he may sound a little crazy getting annoyed with Taehyung over a toothbrush, but he feels a bit silly mentioning it at all if Taehyung doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

“Because it’s a toothbrush,” Taehyung responds gently. He grins at Jungkook’s flustered expression.

“Well if it’s just a toothbrush to you, why don’t you accept it?” Jungkook mutters.

Taehyung chuckles. “I would love to have the toothbrush. Thank you, Kookie.” Jungkook doesn’t need to look at Taehyung’s face to know that he’s teasing him. “Hey, Jungkook,” Taehyung says, a hint of mischief in his voice, “does this toothbrush exchange count as an early anniversary present or do I need to start saving up my money for something more extravagant?”

“Piss off,” Jungkook grumbles, clambering out from under Taehyung’s body and rolling off the sofa. He stands up righteously and glares at Taehyung. “If it’s not a big deal to you then I’ll keep the fucking toothbrush. I was just trying to make a nice _gesture_ , but whatever.”

Taehyung laughs. “Kookie, baby, don’t be like that,” he grins teasingly.

Jungkook blushes at the nickname and Taehyung smirks. He reaches over and holds onto his hand, entwining their fingers together consolingly.

“I want the toothbrush,” Taehyung tells him with a soft smile.

“You’d better,” Jungkook says snappily. “It cost me a whole 90 pence.”

Taehyung stifles a laugh and pulls Jungkook closer to him. “I’ll pay you back every penny,” he promises gently. “Now help me up? In fact, you may have to carry me. I’m hurting all over and the bathroom’s all the way down the hall.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Does this request have anything to do with my abs of steel?” he deadpans as Taehyung climbs onto his back and Jungkook piggy backs him down the hallway.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Taehyung says into Jungkook’s shoulder, before pressing a chaste kiss to his neck.

Jungkook jolts in surprise and almost drops Taehyung on the floor.

“Woah, chill,” Taehyung warns. “I swear I’ll never kiss you again if it’s always going to end in me getting injured. First last night, now this –”

“Shut up,” Jungkook laughs. “You just caught me off guard, that’s all.” And maybe Jungkook feels spikes of electricity every time Taehyung kisses his skin, but at least when he knows it’s going to happen he has a chance to mentally prepare himself.

Once Jungkook drops Taehyung off in the bathroom, he fetches their toothbrushes and toothpaste and they brush their teeth together in silence.

“Are you going to get changed?” Jungkook asks when they’re finished, feeling nervous all of a sudden. “I brought some spare clothes for you, just in case. Hey – come to think of it, wasn’t it really uncomfortable sleeping in those jeans? I hadn’t even thought about it.”

Taehyung shrugs. “It was alright. Um, I’m not sure about the clothes though… It’s just – my mum will notice they’re not mine. That time I came back from the party wearing your t-shirt was so _awkward_ – she kept asking me questions about it. Eventually I told her it was one of J-Hope’s shirts that he keeps at Rosé’s house, just to get her to stop.”

“It’s not weird to borrow people’s clothes,” Jungkook insists, feeling vaguely embarrassed for bringing it up. (So what if he likes seeing Taehyung in his clothes?) “You really want her to know you’ve been wearing that same outfit for over 24 hours? And that you slept in it? I doubt she’ll be happy about that. There’s even a bit of dried blood on your shirt – are you trying to make her _more_ worried? Anyway, you can always say they’re J-Hope’s again.”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows at him. “That was another excellent speech, Jeon Jungkook.”

Jungkook scowls.

“No, seriously,” Taehyung laughs. “You’re really talkative all of a sudden. Are you really that nervous I’m going to reject you?”

Jungkook looks away from Taehyung to put away their toothbrushes in his toiletries bag. “Well, you didn’t say yes,” he mumbles to the toothbrushes.

“I’ll wear your clothes,” says Taehyung, gently touching him on the arm to get Jungkook to look at him again. “What did you bring?”

“Just a t-shirt and shorts,” Jungkook replies. “Oh, and socks. Socks are good. And some underwear because, who doesn’t need that, right? And I figured the shorts might get uncomfortable without it so –”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung interrupts with a chuckle. “You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry,” Jungkook says, his expression downcast. “I guess I’m still kind of shaken up from the thing yesterday. I’m not trying to be weird.”

“You’re not weird,” Taehyung smiles, taking hold of Jungkook’s hands and swinging them playfully. “You’re perfect,” he says softly.

Jungkook snorts. “Okay, if that was your master plan to knock me out of my weird babbling zone, it worked. Well done.”

“Why don’t you believe me?” Taehyung pouts.

“Would you believe me if I said that to you?” Jungkook asks pointedly.

“No, but that’s different. I’m not,” Taehyung says adamantly.

“Nobody is,” Jungkook admits. “But I think you’re pretty close to it, for me.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “God, when did we become so… gross?” he says despairingly.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook shrugs. “But I kind of like it. Wait there, I’ll go get you your clothes.”

“You mean _your_ clothes,” Taehyung corrects.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, a small smile playing at his lips. “Yeah. I’ll go get you _my_ clothes. Be back in a minute.”

“Thanks, babe,” Taehyung grins toothily.

“Are we actually using that now?” Jungkook says, his cheeks flushing pink.

“I don’t know. But I kind of like it,” Taehyung smirks.

“ _Bye,_ ” Jungkook says pointedly as he exits the bathroom.

“Bye, babe!” Taehyung calls after him.

 

***

 

Once they’re both dressed in clean clothes, Taehyung sits down on the sofa and pats the space next to him for Jungkook to sit down.

“I think we should talk,” Taehyung says abruptly.

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “What have we been doing all morning?”

“Okay, sassy,” Taehyung snorts. “But really.”

“About what?” Jungkook frowns.

“About… what happened last night,” Taehyung says carefully. “Or rather, what almost happened. And again this morning.”

Jungkook looks away embarrassedly. “Why do we have to talk about it? Why can’t we just let it happen?” he asks, his voice small.

“Well, we _could_ , but then we’d run the risk of making it awkward if we’re not on the same page,” Taehyung says gently. “I know I’ve… _done_ more than you have, and I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable. So you need to tell me what you’re ready for.”

“Okay,” Jungkook says in resignation. “Well, I’m – I mean, I guess I want…” Jungkook cringes. “You’re really going to make me say it?”

“You can write it down, if you want,” Taehyung says generously.

“No, that’s worse,” Jungkook sighs. “Okay, fine. I want – _more_. But not the whole… shebang. Is that clear enough?”

“Shebang?” Taehyung sniggers.

Jungkook blushes and Taehyung brings Jungkook’s hand to his mouth, kissing his knuckles in a gesture of conciliation.

“Sorry Kookie,” he says, not sounding sorry at all, “but you’re going to have to be more specific than that.”

“You know what I mean!” Jungkook protests. “This is completely unfair. You’re just trying to embarrass me.”

Taehyung grins. “Okay, I’ll admit that it’s fun seeing you get all worked up like this, but really. There’s no need to be embarrassed – it’s only me,” he says gently.

Jungkook kisses Taehyung softly, their lips only brushing for a fraction of a second. “I know,” Jungkook mumbles. “I just get awkward about things like this.”

Taehyung smiles adoringly, cupping Jungkook’s jaw before dropping his hand back into his lap. “It’s okay to be nervous, or to feel weird discussing it. But it’s really important that we talk about this,” he insists. “I need to know your boundaries, so that we don’t go any further or faster than you want to. Okay?”

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, okay.” He sighs. “Uh, okay. Well… I – I don’t want to have sex yet,” he says, feeling his cheeks heat up from embarrassment at having to say it out loud.

“Me too,” Taehyung reassures him immediately, hoping to ease Jungkook’s discomfort.

Jungkook blanches. “You don’t?” he asks, confused. “But – _why?_ Am I – is it because of me?”

Taehyung chuckles. “No, silly. I just meant that I want to take things slow. I want to take the time to wait, so that when it happens, we’re sure we’re ready.”

“Oh,” Jungkook responds, looking at Taehyung carefully. “ _How_ slow?”

Taehyung snorts. “Stop trying to deflect the question onto me. You know I’m up for anything.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “Not _anything_ ,” he points out.

“Okay, not full-on sex, but everything else,” Taehyung acquiesces.

“Wait – really?” Jungkook asks nervously. “Um. So – if I were to, I don’t know… _shit_ , Tae, don’t make me say it,” he complains.

Taehyung laughs. “No way, this is too fun,” he grins. “Go ahead,” he says, gesturing for Jungkook to continue.

“Okay,” Jungkook says decisively. “So – let’s say you’re in your room, without any clothes on, and – and I’m there too –”

“Kookie, what are you doing?” Taehyung snickers.

“Shut up, I’m setting the scene,” Jungkook insists adamantly. “Okay, so we’re sitting like this…” Jungkook shifts Taehyung’s position so that Taehyung’s legs are stretched out on the sofa across Jungkook’s lap, and Taehyung watches him with barely concealed amusement. Jungkook refuses to meet Taehyung’s eyes as he continues. “Except we’re a bit closer, and my face is – um, lower, and – we’re, well, touching –”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung interrupts again, trying to hide his smile. He takes Jungkook’s hands in his and squeezes them gently, trying to reassure him, and Jungkook looks at him nervously. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just say that you want to blow me?” he asks and Jungkook looks down at their hands, blushing furiously.

“ _No_ ,” he says, and Taehyung bites his lip to keep from laughing out loud. “Okay, I – maybe?” he admits tentatively.

Taehyung laughs properly this time.

“I just – can we go slow, still?” Jungkook asks apprehensively. “I want to, you know, _do_ things with you, but I… I mean, I haven’t even seen you naked,” he admits, his voice so quiet that Taehyung almost has to strain his ears to catch the words.

“We’ll go as slowly as you want,” Taehyung says, squeezing Jungkook’s hands again. “I don’t want _anything_ if you don’t want it too.”

Jungkook smiles shyly. “Okay.”

Taehyung smiles back widely. “God, you’re adorable.”

“I’m _not_ ,” Jungkook argues hotly. “How can you _say_ that when we’re talking about something like this?” he protests indignantly.

Taehyung laughs hard. “Okay, _sorry_ ,” he says teasingly. “But really. Thank you for telling me.”

“I’m regretting it now,” Jungkook huffs.

“Jesus Christ, I’m supposed to be the dramatic one,” Taehyung says with a roll of his eyes. “Find your _chill_ , Jungkook.”

“Find _your_ chill,” Jungkook combats maturely. (He’s too flustered at the moment to think of a better comeback.)

Taehyung snorts. “I _have_ no chill. I’m far too hot for that,” he smirks. “And you clearly think so too, seeing as you want to blow me.”

“Fuck off,” Jungkook grumbles.

“Aw, you don’t mean that,” Taehyung grins, extracting his hands from Jungkook’s grip to poke at Jungkook’s stomach repeatedly.

“Fuck _off_ ,” Jungkook insists, swatting at Taehyung’s hands.

“Baby, let’s not be violent,” Taehyung pouts.

“Stop calling me that!” Jungkook says embarrassedly, his cheeks flushing pink.

“I knew it! You like being called ‘baby’, don’t even pretend you don’t,” Taehyung winks. He looks awfully pleased with himself and Jungkook hates it.

“Shut _up_ ,” Jungkook says grumpily as he stares determinedly at the floor.

“Hey, Jungkook,” Taehyung says softly, placing a hand on his leg and the change in his tone of voice makes Jungkook look at him questioningly.

“What?” Jungkook asks curiously.

“Thank you,” Taehyung says simply. “For being here and coming to check on me and everything. For helping me talk to J-Hope and making me realise that it doesn’t have to be scary. Just – thank you.”

Jungkook smiles gently. “You’re welcome.”

Taehyung leans his back against the corner of the sofa, his legs still stretched across the cushions, and he subconsciously licks his lips as he holds out his hands. “Come here,” Taehyung mumbles, gesturing for Jungkook to sit in his lap and Jungkook obliges, straddling Taehyung and resting his head on Taehyung’s shoulder. It should be uncomfortable, Jungkook thinks, but somehow it isn’t because his and Taehyung’s bodies fit perfectly together and Jungkook thinks that maybe he could stay here forever.

“Thank you, too,” Jungkook whispers in his ear.

Taehyung chuckles. “For what?”

“For telling J-Hope,” he explains. “You could’ve made something else up, said we were just hooking up or something, I don’t know. Or pretended it was someone else you were kissing, or some other reason you got beaten up. But you really told him. I just – thank you.”

“Hooking up, huh?” Taehyung hums contemplatively. “Remind me to use that next time,” he says with a cheeky grin and Jungkook laughs.

“Stop ruining the moment, Jesus Christ. I’m trying to be nice to you.”

Taehyung chuckles. “Okay. Well, you’re also welcome. So – J-Hope will probably still be out for a while. What do you want to do in the meantime?”

Jungkook frowns in thought. “What is there to do here?”

Taehyung shrugs, careful not to move too much in case the movement pushes Jungkook’s head off his shoulder. “We could watch TV, I guess? He’s got some video games, too. I don’t know, really – we tend to hang out at the café and when I’m here we just drink. Oh, I could show you the truck? But no, actually, it’s not quite finished yet and I want the final product to be a surprise…”

Jungkook moves his head from Taehyung’s shoulder to smile at him softly, their faces so close that Jungkook can feel Taehyung’s breath on his lips. “How about we just kiss?” he suggests quietly. “I don’t usually get a chance to be with you like this, with no time limit. And I kind of just want to kiss you. For as long as possible.”

Taehyung grins. “That sounds amazing,” he says, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss.

Jungkook leans back in once Taehyung pulls away, brushing their lips together, and the movement is so careful and loving that Taehyung feels his hands coming to rest on Jungkook’s back almost instinctively, holding Jungkook in place. He trails one hand gently down Jungkook’s body, resting it on Jungkook’s thigh as he mindlessly traces patterns on Jungkook’s leg with his thumb.

Taehyung leans closer to Jungkook, kissing him again, and this time the kiss lasts a little longer, their lips slotting together slowly and deliberately, as if they have all the time in the world. Jungkook rests one hand on Taehyung’s waist and brings the other round his neck, his fingers stroking Taehyung’s hair gently and Taehyung smiles into the kiss. They lose track of time like this, kissing indulgently and slowly; just for the sake of kissing, and Taehyung realises that he never wants this moment to end.

 

***

 

J-Hope arrives home and sets his shopping bags down in the kitchen, before wandering through to the living room to get V and Jungkook to help with breakfast. He walks in to see them kissing each other, which shouldn’t be unusual.

J-Hope is used to seeing V kiss people – it’s kind of hard to avoid when it’s such a common occurrence – but he’s never seen his best friend kissing someone so innocently, without any intent for it to lead to more. They seem to be so caught up in their own little world that they don’t even notice J-Hope standing there.

They rest their foreheads together, taking another quick breather, and the way that they look at each other is so indescribably fond that J-Hope wonders how he never noticed it before. He figures that V must be a better actor than J-Hope gives him credit for.

“Guys, I’m back,” J-Hope announces as he flops onto the sofa opposite them, quickly giving up on the idea that V and Jungkook might actually notice his presence.

Jungkook jerks backwards immediately, looking between V and J-Hope worriedly, but V simply smiles at his boyfriend and pulls him into another short kiss before he turns to J-Hope.

“You’re back,” V agrees.

Jungkook adjusts his position so that he’s no longer straddling V but instead sitting on his lap, facing J-Hope as V’s arm wraps around Jungkook’s waist to hold him steady.

J-Hope watches in confusion, noticing how comfortable they seem to be in each other’s presence, as if they’ve sat like this hundreds of times before, and J-Hope can’t stop himself from asking, “How did you guys get so close so quickly?” He frowns at V, trying to think it through. “I mean, there must be something I’m missing. Hardly a month ago, you were late meeting me and the other T-Birds because you’d just had sex with Jennie.”

“What?” Jungkook chokes, pulling away from V.

V frowns, looking at J-Hope in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh…” J-Hope says apprehensively. “Did you not tell him about that?”

Jungkook stares at V, hoping desperately that there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. “But – when did – _what_ – you didn’t –”

“Hey, Kookie, look at me,” V coaxes gently as the pieces slot together in his head and he realises what J-Hope is referring to. “That’s not true, okay? He’s talking about the night you stayed over – the night that we got back together.”

“Oh,” Jungkook sighs, relaxing a little. “But… _we_ didn’t…” he says nervously.

“I know,” V chuckles lightly. “But we’d been kissing a lot and my lips were swollen and my clothes were kind of crumpled and I didn’t have an explanation, so when Hani asked if Jennie stayed over I said yes.”

J-Hope stares at him. “So you made that up? You lied?”

“I guess,” V shrugs. “I mean, I didn’t come up with the lie; I just went along with it.”

“So – you never…?” Jungkook asks. He has to be sure.

“Of course not,” V says softly. “Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. But I didn’t understand why you kissed her either,” Jungkook mumbles. J-Hope’s eyes widen exponentially as he realises that there must have been some sort of overlap with the relationships. J-Hope recalls how he basically pressured V into going out with Jennie and, even if he doesn’t understand the timeframe, he still feels partly responsible for hurting their relationship.

V bites his lip. “I know. But that’s over, for good. I promise.”

“Okay,” Jungkook says quietly.

V kisses him gently. “I really like you, you know that?”

Jungkook smiles. “I know.”

V raises an eyebrow. “Your turn.”

“I really like me too,” Jungkook grins.

V rolls his eyes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Just hammering it in that I don’t deserve you.”

Jungkook smiles fondly. “Don’t be like that. Seriously, I can hardly believe what’s happened in the past 24 hours. You told your best friend about us, don’t you think that’s insane?”

“I think it’s sad that you think it’s insane,” V says regretfully.

“I don’t mean it like that,” Jungkook says softly. “I just mean that this is a really big step. I mean, you’ve even _kissed_ me in front of him. This is _massive_.” He tilts V’s head up so that they’re making eye contact. “I’m so proud of you.”

“You are?” V asks, surprised.

“I am,” Jungkook continues gently. “This is your best friend – he means the world to you but you’ve been completely honest to him about us. I couldn’t feel prouder.” Jungkook kisses him tenderly on the forehead before pulling back. “How do you feel?” he asks anxiously. Coming out can be scary, even if the reaction is positive. Knowing that you’ve put yourself out there and showed such a vulnerable side of yourself is nerve-wracking, to say the least.

“Okay, I think,” V smiles. “It’s weird, you know?” V looks at J-Hope, who smiles encouragingly. He turns back to Jungkook. “He’s being so great about it but the whole thing feels a little surreal. It’s weird and… kind of scary, but I guess it’s good.”

Jungkook smiles back. “Hey, now that you’ve told your best friend, the others shouldn’t be so bad, right?”

J-Hope looks at V, eager to help. “Hey, dude, if you want, I can tell them. Then you wouldn’t have to go through the whole conversation again. It could be like a plaster, you know? Rip it all off in one go and it’s not so bad.” V’s expression turns from wary to full-on freaked out as J-Hope continues and he stops speaking abruptly, belatedly conscious that he may have gone too far.

“No, no, you can’t just –” V mutters quickly, looking between J-Hope and Jungkook worriedly and feeling the familiar panic rising to his throat. “I don’t – this is _too much,_ all at once – I can’t…”

“Hey, hey,” Jungkook shushes him. He pulls V into a hug and strokes his hair as he tries to soothe his boyfriend’s nerves. “No one’s forcing you into anything, okay? It was just a question.” He kisses V’s hair gently. “He’s not going to tell anybody if you don’t want him to.” Jungkook looks to J-Hope for confirmation and J-Hope nods worriedly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” J-Hope says, feeling extremely guilty. He looks between V and Jungkook and wonders when somebody else got better at reading V’s emotions than him. “I don’t have to say anything,” he reiterates.

“Really?” V asks anxiously. “You’ll keep this a secret?”

“Of course I will, if that’s what you want,” J-Hope says with a small smile.

“Thank you,” V whispers. He looks at Jungkook nervously. “I – I know you want to tell people, but I –”

Jungkook cuts him off with a gentle kiss. “There’s no rush,” he responds softly. “We have plenty of time. I don’t want it if you don’t want it too, okay?”

J-Hope looks between them anxiously. “Hey, how about I make us some breakfast? You should probably eat before your mum arrives.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise. “Why’s my mum coming over?”

V stifles a laugh. “He’s talking about mine,” he explains to Jungkook with a fond smile. “She wants to take me home.”

“Oh,” Jungkook responds, feeling a little silly that he misunderstood, but then he frowns. “Does she know what happened?”

V grimaces. “No. And I’m not really sure what to tell her. But hopefully she won’t ask too many questions.”

“You could always tell her the truth and just leave some bits out,” Jungkook suggests. “Mention the drunken idiots and how they had a problem with you, without explaining why.”

V nods slowly. “That could work, actually. If I tell her I’m not sure why it happened, she’ll still be confused but at least she won’t pressure me for answers.”

Jungkook smiles. “That’s that sorted then. What’s for breakfast?”

J-Hope grins. “Come through to the kitchen – oh fuck, I forgot to put the food away.”

V laughs at him as the three of them head into the kitchen. They unpack the shopping together, with J-Hope and V showing Jungkook where everything goes. Once they’ve finished, J-Hope announces that he’s in the mood for a full-English, of course forgetting the fact that his cooking skills aren’t good enough to actually pull it off.

“There are too many pans!” J-Hope yelps as he flits between the bacon, the beans and the mushrooms, trying to stop everything from burning.

“Do you need a hand?” Jungkook offers.

“Yeah, actually,” J-Hope says gratefully. “I haven’t even started the eggs yet – do you think you could…? Thanks,” he sighs when he sees Jungkook cracking a couple of eggs into a bowl.

V raises his eyebrows at him. “I didn’t know you cooked,” he comments, impressed.

Jungkook chuckles. “They’re just eggs.”

Jungkook adds salt, pepper, a little milk, and whisks it all together. (He’s not purposefully trying to impress V with his cooking skills or anything. That would be stupid.) He pours the mix into a saucepan and starts cooking, V coming to stand behind him and wrapping his arms around Jungkook’s waist. It restricts Jungkook’s movement but Jungkook doesn’t push him away.

“Still, there’s something really attractive about a guy who knows how to cook,” V smirks as he hooks his chin over Jungkook’s shoulder.

Jungkook snorts. “What can I say? I’m a catch.”

V pouts. “Will you stop laughing? I’m trying to flirt with you.”

“No, you’re not; you’re trying to _distract_ me,” Jungkook corrects, shoving V’s hands away when they squeeze at his biceps. “Will you stop?” Jungkook laughs.

“Aw, but it’s fun messing with you,” V grins. He presses a quick kiss to Jungkook’s neck before letting him go. “Okay, fine, I’ll wait at the table.”

“Thank you,” Jungkook says with a roll of his eyes. “J-Hope, I think these are done.”

“Great, thanks,” J-Hope smiles.

“You’re quiet today,” V observed from the kitchen table.

“Well you two aren’t exactly making me feel included,” J-Hope laughs, but there’s no malice in his tone. “Come on, V, where are _my_ distracting kisses?” he teases.

V laughs, feeling a small weight lift off his shoulders as he realises that J-Hope is still comfortable enough around him to even make jokes about kissing him – even with the knowledge that he’s gay. Really, he shouldn’t have expected any less from J-Hope, but he supposes he was prepared for at least a couple days of awkwardness before things settled. But he’s grateful that he doesn’t have to wait for things to get back to normal. “Not sure Rosé would be too happy about that,” V jokes in reply, which makes Jungkook snicker.

“Especially when it’s got something to do with you,” he points out, grinning at V.

V rolls his eyes. “Ugh, don’t remind me of how much she hates me.”

“I don’t think she hates you,” J-Hope says apprehensively as he passes them their plates.

“Do you _see_ the way she acts around me?” V points out.

J-Hope rolls his eyes. “She’s just bitter – and after how it ended between you, that’s no surprise. But trust me, it’s not hatred.”

V raises his eyebrows disbelievingly. “And she told you that?”

“Not exactly… but I can tell,” J-Hope says simply. “Now eat your food.”

Once they finish eating, J-Hope moves to the sink to clear up their plates and V moves to sit in Jungkook’s lap, wrapping his arms round Jungkook’s neck and pressing his lips to Jungkook’s cheek.

Jungkook smirks. “You’re affectionate today,” he comments idly as he places his hands on V’s hips to keep him in place.

“I’m just happy,” V smiles. “It’s nice, knowing that for once we don’t have to hide what we have.”

“Yeah, it is,” Jungkook smiles back, feeling beyond proud of his boyfriend. It can’t have been easy telling J-Hope the truth, but here they are, sitting practically on top of each other even with V’s best friend still in the room.

V’s smile gets wider as he stares at Jungkook, looking for any hint of unease and finding nothing. He just gave Jungkook the perfect opportunity to comment on how they wouldn’t have to hide at all if it weren’t for him, but the thought doesn’t even appear to cross Jungkook’s mind. He seems just as content as V does in this moment.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” V mumbles, resting his forehead against Jungkook’s.

Jungkook’s heart beats faster against his permission as he frowns at V. “Have you taken more meds without me noticing?” He holds V tighter and looks at him searchingly, evidently confused. “Seriously, what’s up with you?”

V chuckles. “Nothing’s up. I just thought I should tell you how I feel. But if you don’t want to hear it, that’s fine.”

Jungkook’s frown disappears. “You mean it,” he says in realisation.

“Of course I do, you idiot,” V grins, before leaning in to kiss Jungkook, deep and slow and passionate.

Jungkook pulls away after a minute, placing a hand on V’s chest to stop him leaning in again. “Wow, okay,” he says, trying to regain his breath. He chuckles slightly. “You realise J-Hope’s still in the room, right?”

“Exactly,” V smiles. “He’s still in the room and he can hear us, he can even see us if he wants to –”

“I don’t want to,” J-Hope interjects from his position next to the sink.

“– and we can still sit here like this. We can stare at each other and flirt and _kiss_ and it doesn’t matter. Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yeah, it is,” Jungkook agrees, pulling Taehyung close and kissing him again, because with Taehyung sitting here in his lap, wearing Jungkook’s clothes and talking so freely about their feelings for each other, Jungkook really doesn’t have much hope of resisting him any longer.

 

***

 

Once J-Hope has finished doing the dishes, the three of them relocate to the living room to watch TV while they wait for V’s mum to arrive. J-Hope deliberately sits on the sofa opposite Jungkook, thinking that he doesn’t want to be sat too close to the couple; and it’s a decision he definitely doesn’t regret when V sits down next to Jungkook, putting an arm around his shoulders and cuddling close to him.

They stay in this position for the next couple of hours, all focusing on the TV, but J-Hope can’t help but notice how V and Jungkook keep stealing glances at each other, more interested in watching each other’s reactions to the TV show than actually watching the show themselves.

Eventually, there’s a ring at the doorbell and J-Hope smiles at V and Jungkook sympathetically, but they don’t seem fazed. Instead, they both sit up straight and smooth down each other’s shirts, which are crumpled from the cuddling. J-Hope moves to answer the door, leaving V and Jungkook to say goodbye to each other for now. (Monday is only a couple of days away, but Jungkook isn’t holding out much hope that V will be recovered enough to go back to school so soon.)

“Hello, Mrs Kim,” J-Hope says brightly as he invites her inside.

“Nice to see you again, J-Hope,” she replies pleasantly, although she seems a little anxious. Then, dropping her voice a little, she asks, “How is he?”

J-Hope smiles consolingly. “He’s good. He’s aching and moving slowly, but he’s really okay. You don’t need to worry.”

“Like that’ll stop me,” she chuckles, but at least she seems a little more relaxed. At that moment, V walks out of the living room and Mrs Kim directs him with a look of pity. “Oh, honey…” she mumbles. She looks like she wants to go and hug him, but then she remembers that her son is still a _teenager_ and probably doesn’t want to hug his mum in front of his best friend.

“Hey, mum,” V says with an awkward smile. “I, uh – thanks for picking me up.”

“Of course,” she responds instinctively, but then she notice somebody else enter the room and her eyes widen in surprise. “Oh, hello Jungkook,” she says politely.

“Hi Mrs Kim,” Jungkook responds with a small smile.

“J-Hope, you didn’t tell me Jungkook would be here,” Mrs Kim says, confused.

“I didn’t realise you knew him,” J-Hope responds, also confused.

A flicker of emotion that J-Hope doesn’t recognise flits across Mrs Kim’s face before her expression smooths over into something more neutral. “Honey, I brought Soonshim in the car,” she says to V, changing the subject. “I thought that you might want to see her; that maybe it would cheer you up.”

“Thanks mum!” V grins, his face lighting up in childish excitement.

“Hey, can I meet Soonshim?” J-Hope says eagerly. “I’ve never met your dog before.”

“Sure!” V says with just as much enthusiasm. “Be careful though; she can be a bit aggressive with new people,” he warns. He then opens J-Hope’s front door and leads the way to the car, with the others following behind.

V opens the car door and Soonshim bounds out onto the pavement, jumping up at V and barking happily.

“Hi, Soonshimmie,” he grins. “Look who’s here to meet you!”

J-Hope bends down to stroke Soonshim and she backs away, growling at him.

“Be nice!” V scolds her as Mrs Kim chuckles good-naturedly. “You’re two of my best friends, so you have to get along with each other,” V says seriously to his dog.

Soonshim practically sticks her nose in the air and stalks around J-Hope to reach Jungkook, who’s standing a couple metres back from the car.

“Hey, cutie,” Jungkook grins, bending down and patting Soonshim on the back. “How are you doing?”

She barks at him happily and J-Hope frowns. “V, I thought you said she’s not good with new people?”

“No, but we’ve met hundreds of times, haven’t we?” Jungkook responds, talking in a high-pitched voice to Soonshim as she rolls over and allows him to stroke her tummy. “Is she still taking her meds?” Jungkook asks Mrs Kim obliviously as V smiles guiltily at J-Hope.

“Yes, and she’s been so much better ever since. She’s got a lot of her energy back,” Mrs Kim smiles.

“I’m so glad to hear that,” Jungkook says earnestly. Soonshim nips at his fingers playfully and Jungkook laughs, pulling his hand away to stroke her behind the ears.

“Thank you again for taking her to the vets,” Mrs Kim says gratefully. “We were all so worried about her and it really did V the world of good to have your support that night.”

“Any time,” Jungkook smiles.

V gulps. “So, uh, we should get going, right?” he asks. He’s not trying to be rude, but the more time he spends with J-Hope, the more J-Hope finds out he’s been lying and he _really_ just wants this experience to end. He needs time to process.

Mrs Kim smiles at him understandingly. “I guess you’re quite tired, right? You probably didn’t get much sleep last night, after everything.”

“Yeah, exactly,” V lies. “Let me just get my things from inside.”

“I’ll help,” Jungkook says, standing up and following V inside the house.

“It was nice of you to lend him some of your clothes again, J-Hope,” Mrs Kim comments kindly, in an attempt to make small talk while they wait.

“My clothes?” J-Hope asks in confusion, before it registers in his brain that the clothes V’s wearing this morning are different to the ones he had on last night, and he definitely didn’t have any spares with him when J-Hope brought him back to his house. “Right, yeah. I mean, any good friend would,” he says awkwardly. But then he falters. “Again?” he questions.

“Yes,” Mrs Kim says carefully. “You did the same thing a couple of weeks ago, after Rosé’s birthday party?”

J-Hope blinks, his eyes wide. The last thing he remembers of V at that party was him being kicked out of the house – with Jungkook making a half-hearted excuse to leave not long after. He feels like such an idiot for not noticing. “Yeah, of course,” he says, painting an easy smile on his face. He doesn’t know how V and Jungkook have managed to keep this up for so long – he’s already cracking under the pressure. “Do you want tea or coffee or something while we wait?” he then asks, hoping for a distraction.

“If you don’t mind,” Mrs Kim smiles.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it,” J-Hope says, plastering his usual bright smile onto his face and hoping that it’s enough to fool V’s mother. He leads her back inside, Soonshim following happily, and he manages to divert the conversation onto topics that have nothing to do with V, up until when V is ready to leave. (If Mrs Kim notices that her son took a rather long time to gather up his one outfit from last night and a single toothbrush, she doesn’t say a thing.)

“Thanks again, J-Hope,” V smiles as he leaves, Soonshim barking her own goodbye, and it could easily come across as saying ‘thank you for taking care of me’ to someone who didn’t know better, but J-Hope understands that it really means ‘thank you for accepting me’.

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” J-Hope replies.

After their car drives away, J-Hope turns to look at Jungkook, who’s still standing in his house looking characteristically awkward. Jungkook is about to mumble something about needing to get going when J-Hope speaks up. “V’s mum thanked me today, for lending him some clothes after Rosé’s party.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, and he looks vaguely scared of J-Hope’s reaction. “Yes, that was very nice of you,” he replies meekly.

J-Hope raises an eyebrow. “Are you not going to explain anything?”

Jungkook directs his gaze to the floor. “I really don’t think I should. It’s up to V to tell you. I don’t know how much he wants to explain.”

J-Hope sighs, a little frustrated even though he acknowledges that Jungkook has a point. V is his best friend – he should be the one to tell him, not Jungkook. And it should also be because he _wants_ to; not just because he feels like he should.

“I guess you’re right,” he admits reluctantly.

“I – uh, I should go, then,” Jungkook stutters. Maybe it’s a little silly, because he hadn’t even thought of it before, but now that he’s alone with J-Hope and J-Hope knows the truth, he finds that he really wants to get his approval of their relationship. He wants to know that J-Hope thinks he’s good enough.

“I’ll see you on Monday,” J-Hope replies pleasantly.

“Yeah,” Jungkook sighs, heading towards the door, before he turns around decisively.

“Forget your bag?” J-Hope asks knowingly.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Oh – yes. But that’s not why I stopped. I just –” He falters, blushing. “You’re okay with us, right? With – with me and V?”

J-Hope looks surprised by the question, but then he smiles. “Of course. You seem like a good fit.”

Jungkook blushes again, but this time he seems pleased rather than embarrassed. “Good. I – I think so too.”

J-Hope’s smile stretches into a grin. “I’ll see you Monday, Jungkook,” he repeats, but it’s more genuine this time.

“Okay. See you,” Jungkook smiles, before walking out the door.

He rings on the doorbell approximately 10 seconds later, realising that he forgot to pick up his bag, even after J-Hope reminded him. But J-Hope doesn’t make things awkward and when Jungkook leaves again – for real this time – he thinks that maybe J-Hope knowing about their relationship might be really good for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, I didn't really know how to leave it at the end and I kind of want to change that last sentence, but I didn't have any better and I'm tired so I just wanted to post this before bed hahah
> 
> I hope you liked ittttttt. they talked things through more and stuff so YAY. also I kind of love awkward scenes so that last bit with j-hope and v and jungkook and mrs kim and soonshim was like /so/ much fun to write, but I guess I just like putting characters in uncomfortable positions lol
> 
> leave me a comment if you want to!!! tbh, even if it's like, 2 months after this chapter has been posted, I'll still be thrilled to see your thoughts on the chapter so yeahh. let me know what you think, if you want, or maybe what you think will happen next? idk. I have lots of ideas but I can't choose all of them
> 
> I'm procrastinating leaving now so I'd better go haha byeeeee :D


	27. this is a life of illusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J-Hope finds out just how much V and Jungkook have been sneaking around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry for the delay with this chapter, and the delay in replying to your comments as well. I’ve had a difficult/stressful couple of months, but your comments helped motivate me to continue writing, so thank you for that ^.^ I hope you like this chapter, and for those who celebrate it, merry christmas! <3

 

Only when J-Hope spots V’s attackers at school on Monday morning does the thought occur to him that they could out his best friend before he’s ready. He finds himself worrying about it throughout the day, his only consolation being that they may have been too drunk to remember what happened or who they were attacking – but then LE notices where J-Hope is looking and smiles comfortingly at him.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, you know,” she says quietly to him as they sit down at their regular lunch table, ignoring how Suga and Hani are immersed in an intense discussion about whether Iron Man’s powers should actually include super-speed ironing. (“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Suga spits. “Why are you so annoying _all the time_?” Hani points her fork in Suga’s face. “It’s literally in his _name_ ,” she argues back.)

J-Hope frowns at her. “What are you talking about?” he asks quietly, genuinely confused, because LE can’t possibly understand what J-Hope is worrying about.

“If someone had dirt on Hani I’d get overprotective too, but you can chill out. I took care of it,” she responds mysteriously.

J-Hope looks at her warily. “What do you mean you ‘took care of it’?”

LE smirks. “You really think I’d have left V in that state, just to go to a sleepover? Please. When I left, I went to find them. Beat some sense into their thick heads.”

J-Hope raises an eyebrow, a little nervous to find out how much she knows. “Did you ask them what happened?”

LE smiles smugly. “Oh, I asked. I asked them over and over again until they learnt that they weren’t supposed to answer.”

J-Hope turns his gaze back to the douchebags who beat up his best friend and sees them look quickly in the other direction. They seem scared. J-Hope turns back to LE with a smirk. “Nice job.”

“Yeah, well,” she shrugs, modest. “I guess growing up in a family like mine has its perks.”

At that moment, Hani and Suga’s conversation comes to an angry halt, with Suga scoffing while Hani waves enthusiastically at J-Hope and LE in greeting. (It’s clear who won the argument.) “Where’s V?” Hani asks curiously.

“He’s off sick today,” J-Hope answers, and that’s the end of that.

Later in the day, J-Hope notices Jungkook looking nervously at the boys who beat up his boyfriend, but when they don’t make any move to acknowledge Jungkook in the slightest, Jungkook looks away, seeming relieved. J-Hope doesn’t think they’ll have any more problems, because there’s no doubt that LE is scary enough to make those homophobes back off for good.

 

***

 

When Jungkook arrives at dance class on Tuesday, Bambam bounds over to him excitedly. “Hey, stranger,” he grins.

Jungkook laughs awkwardly. “Hey.” He almost expected Bambam to be cold with him today – they argued the last time they spoke and Jungkook hasn’t made any effort to contact him since. He supposes now that it was a stupid decision, because Bambam isn’t the type to hold grudges, but he can also be stubborn when he wants to be. It was hard to know which way it would go. ~~~~

“Where have you been?” Bambam probes. “You missed the showcase in half term, you know.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Shit. I forgot about that.”

Bambam raises an eyebrow. “We’ve only been working towards it for, what? Two months? Seriously, what’s up with you?”

Jungkook smiles uncomfortably in response. “I guess I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

Bambam frowns, looking worried. “Relationship troubles?” he ventures cautiously, hoping that he’s not overstepping any boundaries. He’s learnt that Jungkook can be quite defensive when it comes to talking about his love life.

Jungkook shakes his head. “No – things are going really well, actually. I’ve just, you know. Had exams and stuff.” He still looks like he’s uncomfortable having the conversation, but Bambam thinks he might know why.

“Have you been avoiding Yugyeom?” he asks, cutting straight to the point.

Jungkook blanches. “I haven’t been _avoiding_ him.” But he hasn’t exactly made an effort to reach out to him, either. He never managed to clear up in his head what happened between them, or what Yugyeom’s true feelings were – so he has no clue what he’s supposed to do about it. His answer, apparently, was to ignore the issue altogether. A flawless plan, until he realised that he’d only been procrastinating the inevitable conversation with Yugyeom – which will probably happen tonight, now that they’re both in the same space again for the first time in a while.

“You should talk to him,” Bambam continues. “He’s doing fine. Don’t make it awkward.” Apparently deciding to take matters into his own hands, he walks away and pats Yugyeom on the back, who’s in the middle of a conversation with Youngjae. “Jungkook’s here,” Jungkook hears Bambam say, and then Yugyeom is walking over to him with a big smile.

“Hey. Long time no see,” he says by way of greeting.

“Yeah, you too,” Jungkook replies lamely.

“I haven’t seen you at dance lately,” Yugyeom says.

“I’ve had exams,” Jungkook responds defensively.

“Mocks?” Yugyeom asks. When Jungkook nods, he continues, “I hated mocks. Mine were back in December and I feel like I still haven’t recovered.”

Jungkook smiles weakly. “Yeah, I was pretty exhausted.”

“I’ll bet,” Yugyeom grins. There’s a slight pause and Yugyeom is about to start up another light conversation to fill the silence, when Jungkook breaks.

“Why are you acting so normal?” he asks, a little desperately. “I thought things would be awkward.”

Yugyeom raises an eyebrow. “Do you _want_ things to be awkward?”

“Well. No,” Jungkook says, puzzled and struggling to hide it.

“There you go then,” Yugyeom shrugs, as if that explains why he’s acting like nothing ever happened between them.

“But – but I cheated on you,” Jungkook states incredulously. He doesn’t know why they’re both ignoring it. “Aren’t you upset?”

Yugyeom actually has the audacity to laugh. “You didn’t cheat on me, Jungkook. We weren’t even in a relationship – we’d only been out on a couple of dates. It’s cool.”

Jungkook blinks, surprise taking over his features. “So… I didn’t break your heart?”

Yugyeom grins. “No, you didn’t break my heart. I felt a bit disappointed, obviously, but we hadn’t got close enough for me to be heartbroken over you.” Yugyeom is downplaying the truth a little, because sure, he felt disappointment rather than heartbreak, but it was a strong sense of disappointment that was accompanied by a form of heartbreak of its own. But the time apart did him some good, and Yugyeom really is okay now. He’s moving on, and he’s happy.

Jungkook smiles, relieved. “Thank God. I kinda – freaked out, you know? That I’d hurt you.”

Yugyeom smirks, thinking he knows exactly what caused Jungkook to have this reaction. “Bambam scared you, huh?”

Jungkook pales. “Uh – that’s not what I – look, he just –”

“He’s done it before; I can put two and two together,” Yugyeom interrupts, his voice casual enough that Jungkook believes Bambam really _has_ done it before. (He doesn’t know whether to feel comforted or concerned by that thought.) “I’m only a few months younger than him; I don’t know why he’s so overprotective. I’m really fine. In fact,” Yugyeom says conspiratorially, “I think I’m starting to get a crush on this girl at school.”

Jungkook’s eyes light up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Yugyeom chuckles. “We’re in a couple of classes together, but lately we were put in a group project with each other and we’ve started talking more. She’s really cool.”

“That’s really great,” Jungkook gushes. “I’m so happy for you.”

Yugyeom bites back a smile. “Me too. For what it’s worth, though, I’m glad you’re back. I’ve missed having you around. You know, as a friend.”

Jungkook frowns. “I didn’t go anywhere?”

“You haven’t been at dance for a month,” Yugyeom points out.

“Oh – right,” Jungkook acknowledges awkwardly. He keeps forgetting how long it’s been. “Well, I’m back now. You haven’t kicked me out of pizza night yet, have you?” he asks, only half-joking.

Yugyeom shrugs. “We kind of replaced you with Youngjae, but I’m sure we can find space for you.”

Jungkook snorts. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Yugyeom grins. And yes, there may be a little bit of lingering awkwardness, but Jungkook figures that this conversation could have gone a whole lot worse.

 

***

 

“Jungkook!” Jimin says happily when he walks out of class on Wednesday to find Jungkook waiting for him. “What are you doing here?”

“I got out of class a little early and I thought we could walk down to lunch together,” Jungkook explains. He neglects to mention the real reason for his reluctance to go to lunch – today is V’s first day back in school after the incident on Friday night and so far Jungkook has only seen him from a distance. He isn’t really sure how V will act around him, since they haven’t had a chance to speak on the phone so they’ve only been texting, and it’s always hard to gauge emotions that way. Jungkook doesn’t think that in their time apart V will have got anxious enough to take a step back and start ignoring him again, but the uncertainty is still making him nervous. ~~~~

“Well, thanks for waiting for me,” Jimin grins, not seeming to think anything of it. And, in fairness, Jungkook has been making much more of an effort to meet up with Jimin around school this week. It was difficult with exams last week, but now that Jimin’s back, Jungkook wants to make sure that he doesn’t take his friendship for granted again.

“By the way,” Jimin starts as they head over to the canteen, “I convinced Suga to do something for his birthday this year. Usually J-Hope forces him into something small, but I actually got him to agree to a house party round mine! It’s on Saturday, but you can stay over if you want. It’s short notice, but can you can make it?”

Jungkook thinks through his plans for a second, but the only thing he knows he’s scheduled is a video chat with Junghwa on Sunday. He can always reschedule it if the timings clash, so he nods. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Great!” Jimin exclaims, clearly relieved. “I want to mention it to everyone at lunch, but it’s good knowing that someone else will definitely be there.”

Jungkook grimaces. “Well, if it’s only going to be you, me and Suga, I think I’ll pass.”

Jimin laughs. “Come on, I wouldn’t make you stay over,” he teases. Then he smirks. “In fact, I wouldn’t _let_ you stay over.”

Jungkook looks down at the ground, feeling mortified that they’re actually having this conversation right now. “Please stop.”

Jimin looks at him in surprise. “Wow. I know you’re innocent, but I didn’t realise you were such a prude.”

Jungkook gapes. “Are you seriously insulting me for not wanting to discuss yours and Suga’s sex life with you? I’d really rather stay out of it.”

“Fine,” Jimin says with a roll of his eyes. “Be that way.”

“I’m sure the other Pink Ladies will be more than happy to have this conversation with you instead,” Jungkook responds dignifiedly, expecting to bring it up when they sit down for lunch, but as soon as he sits down he realises that something is different. Because, although it’s by no means unusual for J-Hope to sit opposite Rosé at the lunch table, Jungkook definitely isn’t used to seeing Suga sat on her other side.

Jimin beams as he takes a seat next to his boyfriend and scoots up close to him – and at first glance it would seem that Suga couldn’t be less interested in Jimin. But Jungkook sees how Suga moves up slightly to give Jimin more room on the bench and how he shoots a soft, gummy smile in Jimin’s direction when he thinks that nobody is looking.

“Guys, did Suga tell you?” Jimin asks excitedly, looking around at the others with wide eyes as Jungkook takes a seat next to J-Hope. (He’s decided to completely ignore the fact that J-Hope now knows about his relationship: in fact, he’s decided to just ignore J-Hope in general. Somehow it feels easier, if neither of them acknowledge what’s changed. He wonders how long it will last until one of them brings it up.)

“House party at Jimin’s on Saturday,” Suga finishes disinterestedly, and to the unpractised eye it looks like he’s ungrateful, but Jimin knows better.

“It’s for his birthday,” Jimin discloses, and Suga simply shrugs at the surprised looks directed his way.

Rosé starts asking them about the details, but Jungkook isn’t paying full attention to the conversation. Instead, he’s wondering what’s happened to the other members of their friendship group, and in turn what’s happened to V. He needs to be prepared for all eventualities.

“Where are the others?” Jungkook asks after a short lapse in conversation, when he feels too anxious to keep the question buried inside any longer. Suddenly the need to avoid his boyfriend has given way to needing to see him no matter what.

“Jisoo and Jin are sitting with Hani and LE today,” Jimin explains.

“Where’s V, then?” Suga frowns, and Jungkook’s glad that he asks because he’s not sure he would be able to say it so nonchalantly himself.

J-Hope grins. “Found him.”

And then V is stood directly in front of him and Jungkook may or may not forget how to breathe for a split second.

He looks tired, but he looks good. Recovered. More like himself. Or less like himself, depending on your perspective, Jungkook supposes. More like V and less like Taehyung. But that’s okay.

“You feeling better?” Suga asks him.

V nods. “Yeah. Thanks,” he replies simply. The others don’t need to know that ‘off sick’ really meant ‘recovering from a punch up last weekend’. V looks around at the table, apparently trying to decide something. Then – “Can I sit?”

Suga snorts. “Why are you asking?”

But Rosé frowns at him. “If you sit at your normal table, the numbers will be even,” she protests – somewhat childishly, but Jungkook doesn’t really blame her for that anymore. He’s seen V deliberately annoying her enough to understand why she doesn’t want to spend any time with him.

“Five isn’t an even number, Ro,” V grins as he takes the seat next to Jungkook. He clasps Jungkook’s hand under the table, squeezing once in greeting, and Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise. He expects V to let go after that, but he doesn’t, and Jungkook bites back a smile.

“You know what I mean,” she snaps, already losing her cool. “You didn’t have to sit here.”

“But my favourite person in the group is sat at this table,” V announces as Jungkook feels his heartbeat quicken without his permission. “Why _wouldn’t_ I sit here?”

Rosé scowls. “J-Hope is _my_ favourite person, okay? You can’t have him too.” She’s aware that it’s petty, but it also makes J-Hope smile, so she thinks that it’s probably worth it.

V shrugs. “I never said I was talking about J-Hope. I could’ve been talking about you, Ro.”

Rosé scoffs. “You’re so fucking annoying,” she mumbles as she turns back to her phone – where she’s probably complaining to Jisoo about her lunch break being ruined.

“It’s my charm,” V replies, unperturbed. “So,” he says decisively, turning to Jungkook. “Jungkook.”

Jungkook blinks, startled and confused at having all the attention on him. “Yeah?” he says, and he thinks his voice may crack a bit when he says it, but he determinedly ignores that fact and hopes that everyone else will ignore it too.

“How has your week been?” V continues, shooting Jungkook his signature boxy grin, and Jungkook stares at him.

“Uh,” he says eloquently. “Fine?”

“Great,” V says, giving Jungkook’s hand another squeeze from under the table and thanking the universe that they had to sit so close. This way nobody can tell that they’re holding hands.

“Jungkook,” Rosé interjects pointedly, “usually you ask the other person how their week was, too.”

Jungkook blinks rapidly. “But – he was ill. Of course it wasn’t good.”

V stifles a laugh. “I guess you have a point.”

Jungkook blushes despite himself. Suddenly he feels just like he used to back at the beach, when his crush on V first developed. He doesn’t know what exactly has him so shy again, but he thinks it must be something to do with the fact that V is properly paying attention to him in front of his friends. And holding his hand. There’s that, too. (To be honest, with that combination, no wonder Jungkook is having trouble concentrating on the conversation.)

The rest of the lunch break goes surprisingly smoothly, and nobody seems to notice that V eats his whole meal just with his left hand; his right hand hidden safely underneath the table, where his and Jungkook’s fingers are laced together.

 

***

 

After school, V is excited to meet Jungkook in the park and catch up with him properly, but J-Hope seems to have other ideas. “Hey, V,” he calls when V walks straight past the huddle of T-Birds towards the school gate.

V turns around in surprise. “Yeah?” he asks, hesitantly coming to a stop.

“You free to come round mine?” J-Hope asks as he walks towards V and away from the others. “I want to talk to you about something.”

“I actually wanted to get home.” V says, looking warily over at the other T-Birds. They’re only a couple of metres away; close enough to hear their conversation. “I’m still not feeling one hundred percent,” he explains, remembering the excuse that he’s been off sick and hoping that J-Hope will let it go. He’s already a little late meeting Jungkook.

J-Hope shrugs, unconcerned. “I’ll walk with you to the bus stop, then.”

They exit the school together and once they’re on a less busy street, V stops and turns to J-Hope resignedly. “What do you really want?”

J-Hope raises an eyebrow. “Why did you assume I was lying? I just want to talk to you about the whole relationship thing. You know I’m still pretty in the dark.”

V gulps. “Yeah, I know.” He doesn’t elaborate and J-Hope sighs.

“You don’t have to tell me anything – _clearly_. You’ve managed that well enough so far. But – it would be nice if you would tell me anyway. Not because you have to, but just because we’re best friends.” His voice is gentle but firm. “I wish you would stop hiding from me.”

V winces. “Yeah, I know, I just –” He cuts himself off, biting his lip. “I want you to know everything too, you know? I just… wish you could know without me having to say anything.”

J-Hope snorts. “That’s going to be pretty difficult, mate.”

V frowns in thought. “Not necessarily.” And then he continues walking, J-Hope following behind him in confusion.

“Where are we going?” J-Hope asks after V turns down a side street. “The bus stop’s in the other direction.”

“I’m not going to the bus stop,” V explains simply. As they reach the park gates, V stops in his tracks and tells J-Hope insistently, “You can’t tell anybody this is where I’ve been going, okay?”

J-Hope stares at V. “You… don’t want people knowing you like going to the park?”

V rolls his eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”

J-Hope quickly gives up on conversation as V leads him through the park, and eventually they reach a cluster of trees.

“Mate. You’re about to walk headfirst into that tree,” J-Hope says helpfully as V continues walking.

V laughs. “Just follow me.”

J-Hope frowns but follows V through the trees, and sure enough, they reach a clearing. And there, sat next to one of the trees and scrolling through his phone, is Jungkook.

“Hey,” V says, walking over to Jungkook and sitting down next to him. “I hope you don’t mind; I brought J-Hope along.”

Jungkook locks his phone and looks up in surprise. “Uh – why?” he asks his boyfriend in confusion.

V smiles embarrassedly. “I wanted to tell him more about – about _us_ , but… I didn’t know how to tell him. So I figured… maybe you could, instead?”

Jungkook blinks. “Me?”

“I mean, I’ll talk too,” V says quickly. “I just think it will be easier with you here.”

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, sure, okay.” He looks over at J-Hope, who’s still hovering by the trees they walked through to get to the clearing.

“I feel like I’m intruding on something,” J-Hope mutters as he walks towards them.

“That’s because you are,” V says simply as he takes Jungkook’s hand and holds it in his lap. “You feel cold,” he says quietly to Jungkook, taking Jungkook’s other hand and trying to warm him up.

“It’s March,” Jungkook says awkwardly. “It’s cold outside. And you left me waiting for longer than usual.”

V smiles guiltily. “Sorry. My teacher wanted to see me after class, so I couldn’t escape as quickly as usual. And then I got held up by this one,” he says, gesturing to J-Hope. He holds Jungkook’s hands close to his face and blows on them to try and warm them up.

“Why did your teacher want to talk to you?” Jungkook asks, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

“It was about the audition,” V explains, and J-Hope doesn’t understand how that could possibly be enough information, but Jungkook merely nods in understanding.

“Uh – are you guys just going to ignore me?” J-Hope says as he sits on the floor opposite them. It’s less of a pointed statement and more of a genuine question.

“Oh, sorry,” V says embarrassedly, letting Jungkook’s hands slip from his grip. “So. What exactly did you want to know?”

“Well,” J-Hope sighs resignedly. “Since I found out you were dating, a lot of things have been clicking into place. I have some questions.”

V nods. “Shoot.”

“Okay. So just the other week, I heard about how you, Jungkook, stole one of V’s shirts.” He seems rather unimpressed.

“Oh my God, you heard about that?” Jungkook asks, mortified.

J-Hope nods casually. “Yeah, Suga told me.”

“Suga knows too?!” Jungkook complains.

V sniggers and Jungkook glowers at him.

“Jimin told him,” J-Hope responds, laughing at Jungkook’s distraught expression. “Chill, Jungkook – Suga and I are tight. He won’t have told anyone else.”

“Okay,” Jungkook says sulkily.

“I’m guessing theft wasn’t the real reason you had his shirt, though?” J-Hope prompts.

“I slept over at his,” V explains.

“And what? You forgot to wear a shirt home the next day?” J-Hope scoffs.

“No – I, actually…” V grimaces. J-Hope may be his best friend, but that doesn’t mean V wants him to know what a soppy romantic he is. “I wore one of Jungkook’s shirts home,” he says eventually.

“It was the day after Rosé’s party,” Jungkook explains.

“So why was your shirt still out for Jimin to see?” J-Hope questions, feeling pretty confused. “I swear he didn’t decide he was coming back to school until Suga talked to him on Tuesday.”

At that, Jungkook blushes. “It was still on my bed… I’d been wearing it to sleep,” he admits.

V’s expression softens and he turns his head to look at Jungkook, a gentle smile on his face. “You didn’t tell me that,” he says.

“That’s because it’s stupid,” Jungkook mumbles, averting his gaze.

“No it’s not,” V reassures him, grabbing Jungkook’s wrist and stroking his thumb over the back of Jungkook’s hand. It makes Jungkook feel all tingly inside. “I’ve been doing the same thing,” V admits with a small smile. Jungkook returns his gaze and smiles back softly.

“You two are disgusting,” J-Hope groans.

“Hey, you’re the one who couldn’t wait until tomorrow to have your questions answered,” V protests, grinning widely at J-Hope’s discomfort. “If you didn’t want to see us acting like a couple then you really should have known better.”

J-Hope rolls his eyes. “You didn’t even tell me Jungkook was going to be here. Anyway, sorry if it’s taking me a while to realise you’re not a _complete_ dick to _everybody_ you go out with,” he says sarcastically. “I’m used to seeing you chuck people aside without a second thought – not… this.”

V smiles. “Jungkook’s different,” he explains simply. He punctuates the statement with a kiss to Jungkook’s temple, which makes Jungkook blush furiously. V loves making him blush; he loves knowing the effect he has on Jungkook.

“Whatever,” J-Hope grumbles. “I can’t believe that you two have been feeling like this for God knows how long and none of us noticed. In _fact_ ,” he adds to Jungkook, the thought only just coming to him, “you’re probably lucky Suga thinks you’re a thief. He’s been saying there’s something weird about you – as if you’re hiding something. At least now he just thinks you’re a criminal.”

“Because that’s so much better,” Jungkook grumbles.

“Come on, Kookie! We could have fun with this,” V grins playfully.

“How?” Jungkook says doubtfully.

“Well… think about it. I could just start taking people’s things, without them knowing, and then when they ask I could just blame it on you.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “ _No_. Because then you’d be _actually_ stealing, babe.”

V frowns. “Oh, I suppose.”

J-Hope snorts. “You guys are ridiculous. Anyway, the shirt wasn’t the only thing. I –” He cuts himself off, looking apologetically at Jungkook. “Look, I wasn’t planning on asking these questions with you here. But, seeing as V insisted on it…”

“Why does it matter if Jungkook’s here?” V frowns.

“Because I don’t want to offend anyone,” J-Hope says meekly.

“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to Jungkook as well,” V says defensively.

“Well… my next point was that I don’t really understand why you like him,” J-Hope says hesitantly.

V’s eyes widen in shock and he senses Jungkook’s gaze lower to the floor, possibly embarrassed but most likely upset. “What the fuck, dude,” V deadpans.

J-Hope sighs. “Okay, I should’ve phrased that more tactfully, but – _seriously_ , V. The guy who eats ice cream with two spoons? The guy who spends all his free time on Tumblr? The guy who wets himself at parties?” J-Hope shakes his head incredulously. “How do you have a serious relationship with someone who doesn’t even know which month you celebrate Valentine’s Day? You always went for the cool people before and – it just – it doesn’t _add up_.”

V bites back a surprised laugh as Jungkook turns bright red. “But most of that’s not even true!” Jungkook protests, unable to help himself.

“J-Hope,” V says patiently. “He knows Valentine’s Day is in February. We were meeting up on Valentine’s Day and when you guys asked about his plans, he was trying to cover for me.”

J-Hope deflates a little. “Oh. What about the Tumblr thing?”

Jungkook scowls. “That’s just my personality.”

“He also didn’t wet himself at Rosé’s party, although I agree he could’ve come up with a much better excuse for that one,” V acknowledges. “He was trying to help break up the fight between me and Rosé.”

“Why was _that_ the first thing you thought of?” J-Hope asks Jungkook.

“I – actually, it wasn’t the first thing,” Jungkook admits embarrassedly. “I came up with a couple other things too, but I hadn’t really decided which sentence to use and – it kind of just… happened.”

V smiles at him fondly. “It was nice of you to try, anyway.” He turns back to J-Hope. “He doesn’t eat ice cream with two spoons, either. We were out on a date that day and we were going to share it.”

J-Hope stares at him. “But wasn’t the ice cream thing back in October or something? You guys didn’t even know each other then.”

V gulps. “I think it was in September, actually.”

J-Hope shakes his head slowly. “I’m lost.”

V bites his lip, surreptitiously leaning closer to Jungkook for comfort, and Jungkook takes that as his cue to take over the explanation.

“We already knew each other before school started,” Jungkook begins, irrationally worried that J-Hope will think he’s lying, just like the Pink Ladies did. But V is sat next to him and doesn’t deny it, so J-Hope blinks in surprise but then gestures for Jungkook to continue. “I didn’t – we didn’t think we were going to see each other again. But then I ended up at the same school and, well, we thought we’d try and pick up where we left off before. Obviously the date didn’t really go as well as planned, but…” he says slowly, recalling how the T-Birds completely gate-crashed it and how V started acting like a dick towards him again. When Jungkook thinks about it now, he can see how far V’s come after only a few months.

“It was my fault for taking you somewhere I always go with my friends,” V admits awkwardly. “I should’ve realised they’d turn up. I guess I was so focused on impressing you that I just didn’t think it through.”

“I don’t understand,” J-Hope admits. “I thought Jungkook didn’t move here until just before school started? I know you move quick, V, but did you really spend that much time together that it was worth sneaking around with him in front of all of your friends?”

Jungkook gulps. “I – you’re right. I didn’t move here until the end of August. But – my grandparents live nearby, and – and over summer, I – I mean –” Jungkook cuts himself off, looking nervously at V. “Babe,” he says, nudging V’s shoulder. “You have to give me something, here. I need to know how much I can tell him.”

V smiles at Jungkook softly, seeming nervous but determined. “You can tell him everything.”

Jungkook blinks. “You sure?”

V nods. “Yeah. It might be nice for someone else to know the full story.”

Jungkook smiles back gently. “Okay.”

Jungkook turns back to J-Hope, wrapping an arm around V’s waist and holding onto him protectively, just in case V gets nervous again. They both know that J-Hope accepts their relationship, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll be happy about being lied to for so long.

“We met in July,” Jungkook starts apprehensively. “I was staying with my grandparents over summer, and one day I was at the beach with my cousins and I went to buy ice cream, and – and V was buying ice cream too.”

“I wouldn’t have even noticed him if it wasn’t for Soonshimmie,” V says with a fond smile as he thinks back on that hot summer day. It feels kind of therapeutic, being able to share the moment he and Jungkook met with his best friend, without any pretences. “She bit him just as we were leaving, and I went to apologise but Jungkook just – he seemed so nervous. He wouldn’t even talk to me.”

Jungkook blushes. “I _did_ talk to you.”

V grins. “Yeah, but you were either looking at Soonshim or at the floor. Not exactly ideal for a conversation, is it?”

Jungkook frowns. “I didn’t think I was that bad.”

V shrugs. “It kept me interested. Made me wonder what it would be like when all your attention was on me. Maybe that’s why I tried so hard to hang out with you all the time.”

Jungkook looks at him in surprise. “What do you mean? You already walked Soonshim on the beach every day.”

“Yeah, but do you really think I go to the ice cream place each time?” V scoffs. “I kept going there in the hope that I’d run into you again.”

J-Hope coughs, politely reminding the others that he’s still there. “So… you were dating V way before the rest of us even met you?” he asks Jungkook.

Jungkook falters. “I mean, we weren’t technically dating. But. Essentially – yes.”

J-Hope frowns, wondering whether it would be insensitive of him to ask. But if he’s here to get answers, he may as well put everything out there at once. “What happened with Jennie, then? And with Yugyeom?”

“I cheated on him,” V announces without preamble.

Jungkook looks at him in shock. “Don’t just _say_ that.”

“But it’s true,” V says, more gently this time. J-Hope looks between them carefully.

Jungkook shakes his head. “It’s more complicated than that. And I already said that I’ve forgiven you.”

“I know,” V acknowledges. “And I’m really grateful for that. But it doesn’t change what happened.”

“We were… going through a tough time,” Jungkook explains to J-Hope, deliberately using his words carefully. “V was struggling with hiding everything, and he was so worried about people finding out, so he called up Jennie and…” Jungkook gulps, reluctant to continue. Even if they’ve moved past it, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to talk about.

“And I was an idiot who didn’t appreciate what I had and I cheated on him,” V repeats firmly. “So – we broke up, and he dated Yugyeom, and I was too ashamed to apologise. But then Soonshim got ill and I didn’t know what else to do, so I asked him for help. That’s what my mum was talking about when she picked me up from yours – how Jungkook put his plans on hold just to take Soonshim to the vets.” He sees J-Hope’s eyes widen in understanding. “And somehow, with that, we realised that even if things were kind of shitty with all the sneaking around and everything, it was even shittier being apart from each other.”

Jungkook breathes out shakily. “And now I guess you’re all caught up.” It feels beyond strange, summarising the last few months of their relationship as if it’s just a story.

J-Hope frowns, seeming to realise that he’s brought down the mood. “I just have one more question. Who else knows?”

“Knows about what? Us?” Jungkook asks. He looks to V for guidance.

“I’ve only told you,” V tells J-Hope sheepishly. “Oh. And Bambam,” he says as an afterthought. “Although I’m not sure if he knows we’re back together.”

“Bambam?” J-Hope asks, perplexed. “You mean that dancer kid? How the hell does he know?”

“He’s my friend. He’s seen us together,” Jungkook explains. There’s no point in going through all the details with J-Hope right now. “I also told my parents and my childhood best friend, but that’s it.”

“Your parents don’t know then?” J-Hope asks V curiously. “I couldn’t really work it out when your mum came round.”

“They don’t even know I’m gay,” V says quietly.

“Wow, okay,” J-Hope sighs. “You keep surprising me. Anyway, I should probably head off and let you guys catch up or whatever. Thanks for clearing things up,” he grimaces.

“Why do you look so disgusted?” V asks quietly, unable to stop the question from spilling out. “I thought… I thought you weren’t bothered by…” He bites his lip, stopping himself from finishing the sentence. He doesn’t mean to show how insecure he is in front of J-Hope, but he can’t help worrying that this has changed J-Hope’s perception of him. The only thing V’s asking for is that when he comes out to his friends, it doesn’t make everything _different_. That’s all he wants.

J-Hope looks at V, his expression changing to something that V rather embarrassedly recognises as pity. “I’m not disgusted,” he says softly. “I’m just surprised. But don’t feel like you can’t be honest with me, alright? All of us will support you one hundred percent, whenever you’re ready.” He smiles at V before nodding goodbye to Jungkook and disappearing through the trees.

“You okay, babe?” Jungkook asks gently.

Taehyung flushes, but he tries to hide it with a chuckle. “You don’t have to call me that anymore. J-Hope’s gone.”

“But I like watching you get flustered,” Jungkook grins.

“I swear we usually work the other way round,” Taehyung smirks.

“Sure, but it’s nice to switch every so often,” Jungkook shrugs.

Taehyung gulps, wishing he could stop jumping to conclusions when Jungkook thinks they’re just having an ordinary conversation. “Um. Noted.”

Jungkook stares at him. “You okay?”

Taehyung coughs. “Yeah, fine.”

“Anyway, did you notice that those douchebags don’t even seem to remember us from Friday?” Jungkook asks, moving on easily.

“Oh – I noticed that too,” Taehyung says after a moment’s thought. “According to J-Hope, LE put them in their place, or whatever.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Shit, really?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung shrugs. He almost laughs at the scandalised look on Jungkook’s face. “Don’t worry, they deserved it.”

Jungkook winces. “Maybe, but. I still feel a bit bad.”

Taehyung snorts. “Oh, Jungkook. You are too good for this world.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Don’t mock me.”

Taehyung falters. “I’m not. It’s nice you want the best for them, even after what they did to us. I just don’t agree with you. Fuck them, seriously.”

Jungkook chuckles. “I guess that’s fair.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung grins. “Okay, so now we’ve cleared that up, do you want to hear the monologues I used in my drama school auditions?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “I finally get to hear them?! Jesus, I’ve been waiting for this since before you even submitted your application.”

“I couldn’t jinx it!” Taehyung protests. “But they’re done, and Miss Park was saying that from what I said, the final one went pretty well, so I’m happy. I did all I could, at least.”

“Yeah, that’s all you can do,” Jungkook agrees. He smirks at Taehyung. “Come on, baby. I’m listening.”

Taehyung blinks rapidly as he feels his jaw drop. “I – shit, you can’t keep doing this, Kookie. You’re going to kill me.”

Jungkook giggles. “Why do you like that nickname so much?”

“I don’t,” Taehyung protests haughtily. “You just caught me _off guard_. I’m trying to get in the zone for this dramatic monologue and you just go and throw _that_ into the conversation. Not _cool_ , Jungkook _._ ”

“I’m only doing it because it makes you embarrassed,” Jungkook laughs. But then Taehyung’s smiling at him, and Jungkook finds himself thinking that maybe the nickname has not so much to do with Taehyung’s embarrassment at all, but everything to do with how he likes labelling Taehyung as _his_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo I've been working on where I want to take this storyline over the last couple of weeks, so hopefully the next chapter won't take so long now I have more planned lmao thank you for sticking arounddddd
> 
> and as always, leave me a comment if you want to because it always makes my day :D


	28. but now there’s nowhere to hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook accidentally shares a secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *in ravi’s voice* it’s been a while
> 
> it’s been, like, a month?? oops??? I didn’t even have writer’s block this time, I’ve just been really busy. anYWAY here we are, back with a new chapter! I hope you guys are still enjoying this ^-^
> 
> on another note – it was this month last year that I posted the first chapter of this fic, wow?!?! look how far we’ve come. it actually makes me feel so happy, knowing that you guys care about the storyline and what happens in this universe just like I do. thank you so much :’) <3
> 
> okay, that’s enough of that, now on with the storyyyyy

Over the next few days, J-Hope can’t help but notice that V is a little distant. Sure, he’s always closed-off when it comes to emotions, but this time it’s more so than usual. It takes J-Hope perhaps a little too long to realise where the insecurity is coming from.

V is used to people knowing nothing about him. He likes it that way. He’s even like that with J-Hope – or at least he was, until J-Hope found out about his relationship with Jungkook. J-Hope figures that it’s up to him to reciprocate: a secret for a secret.

So when they’re getting ready for Suga’s birthday party together, he decides that it’s time to make amends. “Hey, V,” he says casually as V continues to poke himself in the eye with eyeliner.

“Why is this so difficult,” V mumbles to himself in frustration, ignoring J-Hope altogether.

“I thought it was about time you knew my real name,” J-Hope continues.

“What?” V says in surprise, poking himself in the eye once more in his haste to face J-Hope. “Oh, _fuck_ ,” he says, dropping the eyeliner to the floor as he clutches at his eye.

“Maybe you should just give up on that,” J-Hope snorts.

“Piss off,” V combats maturely. He squints at J-Hope with the eye still on show. “What do you mean, tell me your real name?”

“Hoseok,” J-Hope responds simply. “That’s my birth name.”

V stares at him in confusion. But before he can ask what brought on the sudden confession, Hoseok adds on, “Now we’re even.”

V’s eye widens in understanding. But then he smiles, and the tension that’s been surrounding them for the past few days dissipates. “Thanks.”

“So, how’s Jungkook?” Hoseok asks, wiggling his eyebrows a little.

And, for the first time since Hoseok found out about their relationship, V gives him an honest answer. “He’s good. Nervous about the party, though.” He turns back to the mirror, picking up the eyeliner to try again.

Hoseok frowns as he picks up a comb to sort out his hair. “Why’s he nervous?”

V shrugs. “When isn’t he nervous? Anyway, he has it in his head that something bad always happens at parties. Like when I had that stupid fight with Ro. Or at Jin’s birthday thing, when I took that penalty drink for him and almost blew our cover, remember?”

Hoseok’s eyes widen in realisation. “Wait, _that’s_ why you did that? Because you were dating?”

V snorts. “I don’t know why I did it, to be honest. I wasn’t thinking.” He pauses, thinking back on it. “He looked uncomfortable.”

“When doesn’t he look uncomfortable?” Hoseok chuckles.

V narrows his eyes. “Fuck off. Only I’m allowed to make fun of him like that.”

Hoseok raises an eyebrow. “Chill. Why does it matter? He’s not here.”

“Yeah, but _I’m_ here,” V argues. “And I’m telling you, you can’t talk about him like that. It’s different when I do it – with me, it’s obviously a joke, but if you do it, it’s just mean.”

Hoseok grins teasingly. “You’re really protective of him, aren’t you?”

V frowns. “Your point?”

“Never mind,” Hoseok laughs, dropping the subject. “You almost ready?”

“Once this eyeliner stops fucking up my life, yeah,” V agrees passively, still focused on his reflection in the mirror.

Hoseok purses his lips. “He’s still going to find you attractive whatever makeup you put on, you know that, right?”

V triumphantly puts the lid on his eyeliner as he turns to look at his best friend. “What are you talking about? I’m not dressing up like this for Jungkook.”

“Sure you’re not.”

V rolls his eyes. “So what if I want to make an effort? I’ve only taken him out on a proper date _once_. Parties are basically the only chance I have to impress him.”

Hoseok nods in vague interest as he finishes styling his hair. “When was the one time you went out then? You’re not counting that ice cream fiasco, right?”

V hums thoughtfully. “Why does nobody ever say ‘fiasco’ anymore? It’s a great word.”

Hoseok snorts. “Okay, Hani.”

V grins. “Anyway, no, I’m not counting that. The one I’m talking about was just a classic date setup – dinner and a film. Nothing all that special.” His smile betrays his words. “It was the night you guys all went out clubbing for Rosé’s birthday.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Hoseok responds. “I wondered at the time why you didn’t want to crash the party with Hani and LE. Seemed out of character.”

V shrugs. “Yeah, well. It was the only time we could guarantee none of you would see us out together.” He shoves on his jacket and nods towards the door. “You ready?”

“Yep.” As they walk out of the house, Hoseok continues, “You do know that you don’t have to hide it from us, right? None of them will think it’s weird that you and Jungkook are dating.”

V bites his lip. “Drop it.” He sounds annoyed, but Hoseok can recognise by this point that he’s just scared and, somewhat ironically, too scared to show it.

Hoseok sighs. “Okay.”

 

***

 

When J-Hope and V arrive at the party, Jungkook is the one to answer the door. “Oh – I was just about to text you,” he says to V as he invites them inside, gesturing sheepishly at his phone, where there’s a half-written message on display. “I wondered when you’d be getting here.”

“What were you typing?” J-Hope grins cheekily as he closes the front door behind them, probably looking for something to tease V about later, but Jungkook hurriedly locks his phone and hides it away.

“It doesn’t matter,” he says quietly. V shoots him a confused look which he ignores.

“Okay,” J-Hope says, a little warily. “Anyway, I’m going to head through to see the others. I’ll leave you guys to it.” He makes sure to wink at them before walking out of the kitchen and leaving them alone.

V rolls his eyes as J-Hope leaves, but he still smiles when Jungkook steps closer and kisses him on the cheek.

“Um, hi,” Jungkook says eloquently.

Taehyung chuckles. “Hi. You look amazing, by the way.” He couldn't possibly not comment on it – it's just black jeans and a black t-shirt, but matched with the smoky black of Jungkook’s eyelids, it gives him a darker vibe that V doesn’t usually associate with him. Thinking about it makes his mouth feel dry. “That eyeshadow looks good on you,” he adds, subconsciously licking his lips.

Jungkook blushes. “Oh, yeah. Jimin did that.” He grins bashfully when Taehyung continues to stare. “You look great too. In case that wasn’t obvious.”

Taehyung smiles, feeling his heartbeat quicken slightly in his chest, even if the compliment is simplistic and not entirely unexpected. Then he gestures to the phone in Jungkook’s hands. “What was up with that, by the way? Why did you hide your phone? I know you weren’t saying anything weird.”

Jungkook falters. “Uh – yeah. It’s just, your name, it’s still – you’re still called ‘Tae’ in my phone. I guess I need to change it. You know, now that J-Hope knows about us.”

Taehyung frowns. “Oh, I guess.” He holds out his hand. “I can do it if you want.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow, but he hands over his phone all the same. “I’m not sure I trust you,” he says pointedly.

“Bit late for that,” Taehyung grins as he unlocks the phone and changes his contact details.

“How do you know my password?” Jungkook asks in alarm.

Taehyung snorts. “You think I’ve never watched you typing in your password before? Jesus. I probably know your Tumblr password by this point.”

Jungkook flushes. “That’s _private_ , Tae.”

“Why, what you got on there?” Taehyung grins.

“Shut the fuck up, you know what I mean,” Jungkook huffs.

Taehyung laughs, handing Jungkook’s phone back to him. “All done. We should probably go join in with the party.”

“Wait, what did you change it to?” Jungkook asks as Taehyung walks past him and towards the doorway.

“You can find out later,” he smirks, and Jungkook doesn’t know why he’s being so weird about it, but he agrees that it can wait until later. It will have to, because the doorbell is ringing again and he has more guests to greet – the job Jimin designated to him, at least until everybody has arrived. It makes Jungkook feel appreciated and not entirely useless, plus it forces him to interact with all the Pink Ladies and T-Birds when they arrive. It’s probably Jimin’s way of trying to make him feel more included.

 

***

 

A couple of hours and a _lot_ of alcohol later, they’ve just finished playing a game that Jungkook has never played before, called Cards Against Humanity – and although Jungkook didn’t understand a lot of the cards, he still ended up winning. Which is confusing. But Jungkook is competitive, and he’ll take his victories wherever he can. He’s in the middle of discussing game tactics with a desperate-to-improve Jimin when Jisoo catches his attention from her position opposite them on the floor.

“Hey, who’s the contact in your phone that’s three heart emojis in a row?” Jisoo asks Jungkook interestedly.

Jungkook frowns as he looks at her. “What – when did you even _take_ that?” he asks incredulously, instinctively patting his pockets to find that his phone is in fact gone; now in the unreliable hands of a rather tipsy Jisoo.

Jisoo showcases the phone screen triumphantly. “Seriously, who is this?”

 _How does everyone know my password?_ Jungkook wants to complain, but he keeps his mouth shut. Instead, he stares at the screen in confusion, trying to figure it out. “I have no –” he begins, but before he can finish his sentence, he realises what Jisoo is looking at and his face goes pale.

Seriously, you would think that Taehyung had more sense than to change his own contact name to three _hearts_ , but okay.

“Stop. Give that back,” Jungkook says frantically, reaching for the phone, only for Jisoo to giggle and hold it further away from him.

“Calm down, I’m not doing anything,” she says unconvincingly.

Jimin directs Jisoo with a bright (intoxicated) smile. “Come on, Chi Chu, you’ve had your fun, now give Jungkook back his phone,” he says gently, patting her on the knee as he confiscates the phone from her.

“It’s ringing!” Jisoo announces gleefully as the phone is taken from her grip, and before Jungkook can register what’s happening, he hears V’s phone go off on the other side of the room.

Jisoo looks at V in confusion, wondering whether it’s merely a coincidence, but before Jungkook think of a way to diffuse the situation, V looks over at them and says obliviously, “Jungkook? Why are you ringing me? I’m right here.”

Jimin and Jisoo both turn to stare at Jungkook incredulously and Jungkook feels his jaw drop open. “Fuck,” he mutters under his breath as he grabs his phone out of Jimin’s hands and ends the call.

Jimin seems to recognise his panic, grabbing his elbow before pulling them both out of the room.

“Jungkook,” he says as soon as they’re hidden safely away in the kitchen. “What the hell was _that_.”

Jungkook gulps. And for once, not a single excuse comes to mind.

Luckily, Jimin seems intent on doing the talking. “Look, I could figure out you had a crush on him, it’s actually pretty fucking _obvious –_ and don’t try to give me that _look_ like it’s not true. But how on earth could you think it was a good _idea_ to save his number as _heart_ emojis? Could you be any less subtle?”

Jungkook gapes at the accusation. “I – I didn’t,” he answers coherently – and it’s not even a lie, because this was all Taehyung’s doing. And if Taehyung has gone and blown their cover, after all of this, he thinks he might just kill him.

“That’s right, you didn’t think,” Jimin finishes for him. (Somehow drinking appears to make Jimin even more self-righteous than usual.) He sighs laboriously. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go back inside, explain to Jisoo that she has to keep quiet, and then tell V it was a misdial. _Actually_ ,” he says, his face brightening considerably, “we probably don’t have to say anything. They’re drunk. They’ve probably moved on already.”

Jungkook sighs in relief. Not only because Jimin wants to keep this information private, but also because he hasn’t put two and two together about why Jungkook even _has_ V’s phone number. He thinks it’s just a crush. This, he can deal with.

However, when they walk back into the living room, Jimin’s plan of moving on and ignoring the problem altogether (a flawless plan, really) is immediately foiled. Because Jungkook is greeted by an excitable Hani squealing, “Aww, our little Kook has a crush on V!”

All the T-Birds and Pink Ladies are sat on the floor staring up at Jungkook and he feels his face heating up at all the attention.

Jungkook worriedly averts his gaze from their curious eyes as V smooths his own worried expression into one of disinterest. “I’m right here, Hani,” he mutters.

“This is adorable,” Hani coos. She turns to V, her smile somehow becoming even brighter. “You hear this, V? Your charms even work on the boys.”

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing him,” LE scolds, flicking Hani in the forehead when she makes to say something else.

Jimin, in the meantime, glares at Jisoo. “Did you really have to announce it to everyone?” he demands, putting an arm around Jungkook’s shoulders protectively. And even if he doesn’t quite understand why Jungkook is feeling vulnerable right now, Jungkook still appreciates the gesture.

“Why does it matter?” Jisoo asks obliviously. (She’s clearly in the stage of drunkenness where she forgets to have any consideration for other people’s feelings.) “V’s straight; it’s never going to happen.”

Jungkook stiffens, because whenever V’s sexuality is brought up it’s always a sensitive issue, but Jimin feels his shoulders tense and misunderstands. “Could you maybe be a bit more considerate, Jisoo?” he says sternly. “Jungkook here has a pretty _big_ fucking crush on V, so it would be nice if you didn’t make him feel so hopeless.”

Jungkook’s gaze snaps up to glare at Jimin. “ _Jimin_ ,” he hisses. “What the fuck? Why are you making it worse?”

Meanwhile, J-Hope stares at them in alarm. Even if it has nothing to do with him, he’s in on the secret of V and Jungkook’s relationship now, and he feels like he has a responsibility to at least _try_ and help. “Let’s not make it a big deal,” he announces calmly. “Think about it; who _hasn’t_ had a crush on V at some point?”

Hani nods thoughtfully. “I know I have.”

LE stares at her. “What the hell? He’s, like, a foetus compared to you.”

Hani blanches. “I’m not _old_ – it’s only three years. And that was before I realised how young he was, anyway.”

“I had a _slight_ crush on you too, actually,” Jin says casually to V. “Obviously before I got to know you as a person,” he adds, like this is an important consideration.

V grimaces. “Well, now that we’ve established I’m a foetus with a shit personality, can we maybe move on?”

“How does everyone feel about another round of Cards Against Humanity?” J-Hope suggests brightly.

Nobody misses how, as Suga sets up the game and starts dealing the cards, J-Hope moves to sit beside Jungkook. Luckily, they don’t understand the subtext to the question when he asks Jungkook if he’s okay.

Jungkook looks at him in surprise. “Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.” He looks around warily at the rest of the room, but they’re all occupied with the game. “I mean, a bit embarrassed, but it’s fine.”

J-Hope also shoots a glance at the rest of the room before lowering his voice. “Is this why you hid your phone from me earlier?”

Jungkook almost laughs at the thought. “No. He actually changed his name to the hearts _after_ that – it was just saved as his real name before.”

J-Hope raises an eyebrow. “He changed it _himself_? Christ, he’s such an idiot.”

Jungkook bites back a smile. “Yeah.” He makes eye contact with V across the room and smiles properly this time. “Yeah, he is.”

“Careful, people will see you smiling at him,” J-Hope warns him gently.

Jungkook looks back at J-Hope. “But it doesn’t matter anymore, right? If everyone knows I like him, why hide it?”

J-Hope pauses. “Huh. Well, I guess you’re right. Still, you might want to act a bit more embarrassed by the prospect of _him_ knowing.”

Jungkook sighs resignedly. “I’ve never been much of an actor.”

J-Hope snorts. “From what I can see, you’re doing alright so far.”

“You guys finished with your heart to heart yet?” Suga interrupts from across the circle. “We actually want to play here.”

Jungkook gulps and takes his pile of cards, hoping that nobody heard their conversation, but he knows rationally that they couldn’t have done. They’re all busy reading the cards they’ve been dealt, and he and J-Hope are sitting far enough away from the group that the music would have drowned out their voices, anyway. Jungkook and J-Hope shuffle a bit further towards the rest of the circle before they get started – and V definitely doesn’t miss how Jungkook is now smiling brighter than before. He makes a mental note to thank J-Hope later.

 

***

 

The next morning, Jungkook is hoping to talk to Taehyung before he leaves, but Jungkook doesn’t end up waking up until 11am. He wanders into the kitchen to find Jisoo and Jin having a relatively snappy conversation with each other; Jin cooking something while Jisoo complains about the smell of the food. “If you don’t like it, why did you come into the kitchen?” Jin says unapologetically. “You never learn.”

“Uh – guys,” Jungkook interrupts awkwardly. “Have you seen V? I kind of wanted to talk to him before he left.”

Jin turns to face him in surprise. (He looks tired and undeniably hungover and, well, kind of gross, but Jungkook decides it’s best not to comment on it.) “Oh. He actually left about half an hour ago… Sorry, Kook.”

Jungkook smiles, trying to ignore the slight drop in his stomach. “No, no, that’s okay.” Then, to make it seem more realistic, “I just hope things won’t be awkward around him at school now.” Really, he just wanted to say goodbye.

Jin nods sympathetically and turns back to the stove, but Jungkook can feel Jisoo’s eyes on him. “I’m so sorry about yesterday, Kook,” she says apologetically – and she really does seem to mean it, if the guilty expression on her face is anything to go by. “I wasn’t thinking. I mean, I’m a sucker for gossip, but that wasn’t _meant_ to be gossip; it was meant to be a secret and… I’m really sorry.”

Jungkook moves to sit down next to her at the kitchen table. “Don’t worry about it,” he says casually. “People were bound to find out eventually.”

Jisoo raises her eyebrows. “Am I forgiven, then?” she asks cautiously.

“Yeah,” Jungkook smiles easily, and then Hani strolls into the room dragging a very moody LE in behind her, and any drama from the previous night is forgotten.

 

***

 

When Jungkook hears the doorbell ring at 1pm that afternoon, he expects it to be the postman, or maybe his father coming back from the supermarket deciding to ring the bell because he’s misplaced his keys, or even a cold caller trying to sell him a garden bench. (Which he had a few weeks ago. That wasn’t the first time, either. Honestly, he doesn’t understand why these people even _try_. Who would make an impulse purchase on a _bench_?) What he most certainly doesn’t expect is to see Taehyung waiting outside his door, looking bereft and holding a bouquet of flowers.

Jungkook invites him inside, but before he has a chance to ask him what the hell is going on, Taehyung announces, “I’m so sorry.”

Jungkook stares at him. “For what?”

“For yesterday,” Taehyung explains – insufficiently, clearly, because Jungkook still doesn’t understand what the problem is.

He warily closes the front door and turns to look at Taehyung, the surprise on his face so unmistakable that it makes Taehyung falter. Maybe he read the situation wrong.

“Tae – I’m not mad at you,” Jungkook says slowly, as if this much should be obvious.

Taehyung blinks at him as he slowly puts the bouquet of flowers down on the kitchen table. “You’re not?”

Jungkook chuckles. “No? Why would I be?”

Taehyung stares at him. “Because now all our friends think you have a crush on me?”

Jungkook smirks. “Well, they’re not wrong.” Taehyung still looks unconvinced, so he steps closer and explains, “Now they know I like you, I don’t have to hide it anymore. I can say I’m not interested in other people, because they _know_ I’m already into someone else, and it’s fine. I can stare at you without having to pretend I just spaced out. Hell, I can check you out without having to worry about whether I’m being  _subtle_  enough.” He grins. “Taehyung, you did me a  _favour_.”

Taehyung continues to stare at him. “Oh.” There’s a slight pause. “Well… you’re welcome?”

Jungkook laughs, loud and unabashed. “Oh my God, did you actually bring me  _flowers_?”

Taehyung hurriedly averts his gaze. “Well, I thought you were mad at me –”

“So you got me flowers?” Jungkook interrupts with a snort. “Tae, do you even know if I  _like_  flowers?”

“It’s a thing people do, okay?” Taehyung protests. “If you want to apologise, you bring chocolate or flowers. It’s, like, a rule.”

Jungkook stifles another laugh. “I’m pretty sure the idea is that you get them something they  _want_. Here’s a tip – next time you want to apologise with material gifts, get me a CD or some superhero merch or something. Don’t just be generic.”

Taehyung feels a smile spreading across his face. “I could take you out for lunch, instead, if you want. Food always works well as an apology, right?” He bites his lip. “So you’re really not mad?”

“I promise I’m not,” Jungkook insists, also smiling. “This is  _good_.” He steps even closer to Taehyung and takes his hand, twining their fingers together. “So how about that lunch? You sure the others won’t be hanging around town?”

“Please,” Taehyung scoffs. “Did you even _see_ them last night? Let alone this morning – they’ll be comatose all day.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “What about you? Why are you so fine?”

“I didn’t actually drink that much last night,” Taehyung explains. “I’m trying to cut back on alcohol at parties nowadays, you know? Stop making so many stupid decisions.” He grimaces. “Just so happens that last night’s stupid decision was made when I was still one hundred percent sober.”

Jungkook laughs. “You’re always so dramatic. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed with lunch, okay? Hang on, let me go tell my mum you got her some flowers, then we can go.”

Taehyung snorts. “Okay. She’d better like them more than you do, though.”

Jungkook grins teasingly. “That won’t be difficult.”

 

***

 

When Jungkook arrives at school on Monday, he almost forgets that things are different now. But it’s pretty hard to convince himself that things are _normal_ when Rosé corners him and tells him that they need to sit together at lunch today. It’s strange enough that she’s making a direct attempt to talk to him, not to mention the reason for it.

Jungkook frowns at her in confusion. “Don’t we sit together at lunch almost every day already?”

Rosé rolls her eyes. “ _Yes_ ,” she says impatiently, “but this time it’s actually important.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying that me being there is usually unnecessary?” He means it as a joke, but there’s a little truth hidden between the lines. He and Rosé get along now, but she’s still difficult to figure out.

“No, what the fuck?” she snaps. “I just want to help you get over your crush. I’ve got a lot of shit on V. Once I’m done with you, you won’t remember why you ever liked him in the first place.” And then she disappears, leaving Jungkook to stare after her in panic.

 

***

 

Rosé and Jungkook sit down on either side of Jin when they get to lunch, already in the middle of talking about something, and it takes Jin a few seconds to catch up. “V really isn’t the type of person you want to like, okay?” she insists as Jungkook nods fervently.

“Well, that’s done it,” he announces seriously. “I’m cured.”

Rosé scowls. “Don’t be sarcastic.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen innocently. “I’m not!” he protests. He just _really_ wants to stop having this conversation. He already texted Taehyung this morning to warn him about what would be happening – so why hasn’t he turned up yet? Does he not care that Rosé intends to spend the whole lunch break giving Jungkook a list of reasons as to why he should stop liking his boyfriend?

“I thought you were past bitching about him,” Jin comments.

“I’m not _bitching_ ,” Rosé says haughtily. “I’m just trying to help Jungkook out. If anyone knows why you shouldn’t have a crush on that boy, it’s me.”

Jin sighs. “Aren’t you just stirring up old emotions when you don’t need to?”

Rosé’s glare shuts him up.

“I don’t really get what the big deal is,” Jungkook says meekly. “It’s just a crush. It’s not like I’m going to do anything about it.”

Rosé raises an eyebrow. “Just because it isn’t a relationship, that doesn’t mean it isn’t painful. Do you not want me to help?”

Jungkook blushes but stands his ground. “No, not particularly.”

Rosé simply rolls her eyes and continues.

 

***

 

Once V and J-Hope get their lunch, V expects them to make a beeline for the Pink Ladies’ table, just like they discussed. But instead, J-Hope appears to have some elaborate plan figured out, because he heads towards their regular table, where LE, Hani and Suga are waiting for them, and V has no choice but to follow. It wouldn’t make sense for him to go and sit with the Pink Ladies when, supposedly, there isn’t anybody there he really talks to. He’s banking on his best friend for this one.

J-Hope straightens up once they reach their lunch table and announces solemnly, “I want to sit with my girlfriend for lunch today.”

Suga pauses midway through his pizza to frown at J-Hope. “Okay?”

“V,” J-Hope says, nodding towards him. “You can come with me.”

V stares at him, trying to convey through his eyes that this is _not_ what he meant by ‘help me stop your girlfriend from making my boyfriend want to dump me’.

Hani frowns as well, giving V a strange look. “Why’s J-Hope being weird?” she asks him.

“Beats me,” V responds. “But I guess I’m sitting with him today.”

Once J-Hope and V escape the situation, with V glaring at J-Hope as they walk away and hoping it isn’t too obvious, Suga turns to the others. “J-Hope’s probably trying to cheer Jungkook up by getting V to sit with him,” he contemplates. “They were talking to each other about it on Saturday night, right? So he should know what to do to make Jungkook feel better.”

“That makes sense. No wonder he wouldn’t tell V what he was doing,” Hani chuckles. Suga and LE nod in agreement, because they know that V is likely to tease Jungkook relentlessly about his crush already. He doesn’t need any more incentives.

 

***

 

“Hey guys,” J-Hope says brightly as he sits down opposite Rosé, V taking the seat next to him. “What are we talking about?”

Jin stares between them all and takes a big bite of his pizza, trying to ignore the awkward atmosphere. (Why does he have to be caught up in the middle of this? He just wanted to eat his lunch in peace _._ )

Rosé looks a little taken-aback by the fact that the person she was slagging off is now sat at their table – and although Jungkook is _aware_ that V and J-Hope already know what they’ve been talking about, he still feels the responsibility fall on him to come up with an excuse.

“Um –” he stares nervously, not really knowing why he’s trying, but that Rosé would perhaps kill him if he didn’t at least give it a good go. “We were – we were talking about cows,” he decides.

J-Hope stares at him in confusion. “…Cows?”

Jungkook nods eagerly. “Yes, cows,” he insists determinedly, because he’s committed to it now. “You know; how they… live on farms, and stuff. And – and the milk. There’s that too. So – yeah. Cows.” If nothing else, he’s always committed.

“Right,” J-Hope says slowly as Rosé narrows her eyes at him, probably wondering what on earth is going on inside his head that the first topic of conversation he could think of was _cows._

“I was explaining how Jisoo really missed cow’s milk while she was trying out veganism,” Jin pipes up, trying to help out, and Jungkook shoots him a grateful smile.

“I’m actually quite fond of soya milk,” J-Hope contributes, which makes V frown in confusion. They all _know_ that nobody was talking about cows. Why is J-Hope going along with it?

And so the conversation goes, all of them half-heartedly continuing their discussion about alternative milks, while trying to ignore the awkward atmosphere that’s settled between them. At some point, Jisoo and Jimin walk over, but Jin shakes his head at them, signalling for them to sit somewhere else. And when they hear Rosé make a cutting comment towards V about how there’s no _way_ rice milk could be better than almond milk, they take the hint and walk away.

Once the conversation has moved on seamlessly from different types of milk to different types of butter, and whether margarine could ever be an acceptable equivalent, Namjoon appears at their table. “Hey, sorry to interrupt,” he begins, but Jin shakes his head.

“Don’t be,” he says immediately. (J-Hope almost laughs at the relief evident on his face.)

Namjoon looks surprised. “Well, okay. I just wanted to ask you… I know you’re busy with lunch now, but I have frees all afternoon, so if you had some free time then maybe we could go over those notes I was talking to you about?” he asks hopefully.

“Why don’t we go over them now?” Jin asks, already standing up from the table.

“But – you’re eating…” he says, completely confused. _Everybody_ knows that nothing comes between Jin and his food.

“Right,” Jin acknowledges awkwardly. Then he picks up his lunch tray and smiles. “We could find somewhere to sit out here? If we get a free table, there’ll be room for your notes, too.”

“Sure, if you want,” Namjoon smiles back, pleasantly surprised that Jin wants to spend the rest of lunch break with him.

As they walk away, Jin notices Rosé glaring into her food, and he thinks he can see the other three trying to hold back their laughter, but Jin shrugs it off. He’s escaped now; he doesn’t need to worry about what’s being discussed now he’s gone.

“You have great timing, by the way,” Jin announces as they sit down at a table far away from the others, Namjoon taking his notes out of his backpack and spreading them out on the table. “I needed to get away from there.”

Namjoon smiles. “I have to say – not that I know you particularly well yet, but you looked like you were really uncomfortable.”

Jin grins at the use of the word ‘yet’ in his sentence. “You can say that again,” he exclaims. “Any time Rosé and V start talking to each other it’s a bit awkward, but this was off the scale. Especially because we were all skirting around the topic, talking about _milk_ of all things. I know I’m a food lover, but I was _not_ enjoying that conversation.”

Namjoon laughs. “You sure you don’t want to write about milk on your blog?” he teases.

Jin blushes faintly, his hand faltering as he goes to pick up another slice of pizza. He’s surprised Namjoon remembered he had a blog; he’s pretty sure he’s only mentioned it in passing once or twice. “It’s not interesting enough,” Jin replies, hoping Namjoon doesn’t notice how his cheeks are now a light shade of pink. “Definitely not worthy of my blog. You know I only put up the best content.”

“Yeah, I know,” Namjoon responds, then looks faintly shocked at himself for answering like that. “I mean – I checked out your blog, after you mentioned it,” he clarifies. “It’s really good. Those restaurants you reviewed last month? The way you wrote about them made me really want to try eating there, even if I already know I wouldn’t like the things you ordered.”

Jin scoffs, finding it better to be dramatic than actually accept the compliment. “Is Kim Namjoon, resident school _genius_ and English tutor to yours truly, actually complimenting _me_ on my writing skills?” he asks incredulously. “Wow, what an _honour._ ”

Namjoon laughs. “What can I say? I can’t deny talent. Really, though, you’ve got me wondering what I’m missing out on. Maybe I should eat out more.”

Jin raises an eyebrow. “Well, if you wanted, you could come with me next time I go to review somewhere,” he suggests, trying to sound casual. “I always drag someone along with me; it’s not nearly as much fun eating on my own.”

“Really?” Namjoon asks, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks, too, when he thinks about the subtext to the question. “Well, yeah – that sounds great.”

Jin grins, relieved by the answer and perhaps a little giddy, even if he won’t show it. “Good,” he says, and they continue to chat to each other for the rest of their lunch break, while Namjoon’s notes sit between them on the table, long forgotten.

 

***

 

After the awkward encounter with Rosé on Monday, Jungkook is on full alert all week – so much so that it occupies his mind almost entirely. It makes him think that he must have forgotten some important piece of information, something _vital_ even, when Taehyung asks him in the park on Friday, “Hey, do you know what today is?”

Jungkook frowns in confusion. “The 14th of March?”

“Exactly,” Taehyung smiles. “It’s Valentine’s Day.”

Jungkook scowls, immediately regretting his decision to even _consider_ that Taehyung would have a legitimate reason for bringing up the date. “I can’t believe you’re throwing that back in my face,” he accuses. “I only said that to cover for _you._ ”

“I’m not throwing it back in your face!” Taehyung grins. Jungkook doesn’t trust him for one second. “It’s another excuse to celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?” Jungkook says petulantly. “There’s no _occasion_.”

“Celebrate our relationship,” Taehyung says happily, bringing a hand up to rest on Jungkook’s waist. “Don’t you think that’s always worth celebrating?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “You’re so annoying.”

“You love it,” Taehyung responds with a wink, completely unperturbed by Jungkook’s lack of enthusiasm.

“I really don’t,” Jungkook argues, but when Taehyung leans a little closer and pecks Jungkook on the nose, Jungkook can’t hide his amused smile.

“Convincing,” Taehyung smirks, feeling proud of himself for making Jungkook crack. “Oh, hey, I got you something, too.”

Jungkook gapes. “You have to stop doing that! You’re giving me sugar daddy vibes.”

Taehyung snorts. “Shut the fuck up, I’m just trying to be a good boyfriend. Anyway, this one didn’t cost a thing.”

“Really?” Jungkook asks, his eyes widening in curiosity. “What is it?”

Taehyung smirks again, a little like he’s trying to hold in his laughter, before he brings his spare hand to the front of Jungkook’s shirt and draws him closer, pressing their lips together. Jungkook laughs almost immediately, but he makes sure he kisses Taehyung back for a second before he pulls away and mumbles, “That’s a shit present.”

Taehyung laughs too. “But the present is _me._ Cute, don’t you think?”

“You shouldn’t sell yourself,” Jungkook snickers.

“Well it’s better than _yours_ ,” Taehyung persists.

Jungkook frowns. “But I didn’t get you anything.”

“My point exactly.”

“I’ll get you something on the 14th of April,” Jungkook acquiesces with a small smile, and Taehyung grins – not really because of the promise of a present, but more because Jungkook has enough faith in their relationship to make plans with him a full month in advance.

“You know, I like this idea,” Taehyung says contemplatively. “Maybe we should celebrate on the 14th of _every_ month.”

Jungkook laughs. “Whatever you want.”

And okay, maybe Jungkook doesn’t hate Taehyung _that_ much for making the 14th of March into another Valentine’s Day, or every 14th of the month after that too. There isn’t any way he _could_ hate him, really – not when Taehyung smiles at him softly and pulls him into another kiss, like this is all he’s ever wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand once again I didn’t know how to leave it, but it's midnight and I need sleep, so this is all you're getting lmao i'm tired
> 
> p.s. I know I said namjin would be a background pairing, but I decided to put in a couple of sentences about them and then it just kind of kept on going without my permission? so I guess I lied lol, that cute namjin lunch scene was an accident but I regret nothing
> 
> also – leave a comment if you want to!! I probably don’t need to keep giving reminders, but I want you to know how much your comments genuinely brighten my day:’) so thank you for that in advance, know it really does mean a lot to me. and hopefully I’ll be back with an update soon! <3


	29. you’ll hold me in your arms someday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook and Taehyung go shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s only been 3 weeks this time, we’re getting better woohoo!!
> 
> so, I rewatched the second half of Grease the other day, and I know I’ve divulged a LOT from the original plot lmao but I feel I’m more on track about where I’m going with the plot now so yay
> 
> this is kinda proofread, but I'll probably go back and edit it more later. please let me know if you see any typos so I can correct them!
> 
> t/n tracksuit bottoms = sweatpants (I promise that’s relevant lol even if slightly irrelevant at the same time. idk what I’m saying anymore I’m tired)
> 
> enjoyyyy

“Hey, Jungkook, it’s me,” Taehyung says softly into the receiver. He’s lying in bed, still half-asleep, having awoken just a minute ago in a cold sweat. “It’s 2am so I don’t know why I rang – like, you’re obviously asleep. Uh, this was stupid. I’m gonna go.” He hangs up determinedly before shaking his head at his own ridiculousness. It was just a bad dream, and Taehyung wouldn’t usually phone Jungkook in the middle of the night because of something so stupid. But this time is different. This one felt too real.

He closes his eyes, trying to get back to sleep, but as soon as his eyes close, he sees the nightmare replaying in his head in vivid detail. He sits upright again, trying to shake himself out of it. And with a sudden sense of urgency, he presses dial on Jungkook’s number once more and waits to hear his voicemail message. It’s one of those impersonalised ones with a machine-like woman, which does nothing to ease Taehyung’s mind. He wishes Jungkook had recorded a proper voicemail message so that Taehyung could at least hear his voice. Maybe that would bring him back to reality.

“Hey, me again,” Taehyung mumbles into his phone. His voice is already starting to sound more awake; a little less deep and scratchy. “I think I left my message before at a really weird point. Don’t worry; I’m completely fine. I mean – not completely fine, or I wouldn’t be ringing you, but – hey, look at that, I’m rambling. I don’t know – I just had a bad dream and… I wanted to hear your voice.” There’s a pause, the room momentarily being bathed in silence and Taehyung wonders belatedly how weird Jungkook will think he is when he wakes up and listen to these messages. “Oh, shit, this is Taehyung, by the way,” he adds belatedly as he realises he never mentioned his name. “Although, on second thoughts, you probably have caller ID… but it’s still weird for me not to say who’s calling.” He holds the phone away from his ear again, wondering why he’s still talking to an inanimate object. He doesn’t even know if Jungkook will listen to these messages before they see each other again. “I don’t even know if you’ll hear these messages,” Taehyung shares with the phone, holding it back up to his ear again. “So, once again, hanging up. Talk to you soon.”

He hangs up the phone, turns on the torch function and walks around the room for a second, trying to get his brain out of its dreamlike state. After walking downstairs, getting a glass of water, drinking it, washing it up, putting it away, going back upstairs and climbing back into bed again, Taehyung resignedly picks up his phone once more.

“I think I need to talk about it,” he mumbles when he reaches Jungkook’s voicemail for the third time. “I need to get it off my chest, I hope you don’t mind.” He coughs awkwardly. “Uh, so, it started with me and the rest of my family at my cousin’s birthday party. And everything was going fine until –” He cuts himself off suddenly, realising that he doesn’t want to relive the moment. “This is weird,” he mutters. “You’re not even here; I’m talking to no one; I’m… I’m really going this time,” he says with a tired sigh. “Sorry for spamming your phone. I’m just a bit shaken up by it, I guess. I’ll tell you about it today, although I won’t feel so freaked once I’ve got a bit more sleep. Thanks for listening to me. Bye, Kookie.” Taehyung hangs up the phone for the third and final time and rests it face down on his bedside table, only to hear it start ringing a few seconds later.

Taehyung frowns in confusion, but he quickly picks up because he doesn’t want the sound of the ringtone to wake his parents. “Hello?” he says politely and obliviously.

“Do you seriously not know who’s ringing you?” a sleepy voice that Taehyung would recognise anywhere says on the other end of the line. “You rang me three times, Tae. What’s up? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine, I just… I had a bad dream,” he admits sheepishly. It sounds stupid now.

“Yeah?” Jungkook prompts.

“Yeah,” Taehyung sighs, already feeling a little more relaxed now that he can hear Jungkook’s voice.

“What happened?” Jungkook asks, sounding oddly attentive for someone who’s only just woken up.

“I was at a family party, and then…” Taehyung gulps. “Someone said something, I don’t remember what, and I answered without thinking and somehow accidentally mentioned in my response that I had a boyfriend.” He shakes his head at himself. “It sounds so stupid now, God, I don’t even remember the conversation we were having but I just remember everyone – _looking_ at me. And then I realised what I’d said and I felt this _dread_ and – and none of them got angry or lashed out, but my cousins started – _laughing_ and my parents just looked so disappointed…” Taehyung takes a deep breath, trying to right himself.

“Taehyung,” Jungkook says softly.

“Hm,” Taehyung hums noncommittally.

“It was just a dream,” Jungkook reminds him gently. “None of that actually happened.”

“But it could,” Taehyung responds sadly. “Kookie… what if they hate me? What if they’re disappointed in me? I don’t – I don’t want to be a disappointment.”

“You’re not a disappointment,” Jungkook says firmly. “You could _never_ be.” He sighs. “I wish I was with you now, so that I could cuddle you and kiss you until you feel better.” Jungkook internally cringes at his own words as soon as they’re out of his mouth, blaming his lack of filter on the tiredness.

Taehyung smiles softly, appreciating the sentiment, even if it isn’t possible. “Yeah, me too.”

Jungkook pauses thoughtfully. “Okay, try this. Hug your pillow and – pretend it’s me. Oh, and try running your fingers through your hair; that always helps calm you down.”

Taehyung chuckles as he follows Jungkook’s instructions. “Is this like the cute version of phone sex?”

“Shut up, I’m trying to help you,” Jungkook grumbles.

Taehyung laughs softly. “Yeah, I know. Sorry for waking you up, by the way.”

“It’s fine,” Jungkook dismisses him. “Don’t apologise. Are you doing what I said? Is it helping?”

Taehyung hums tiredly. “Not really. The pillow’s nice, but the hair thing isn’t working. It’s different when you do it.”

Jungkook bites back a smile. “You feel calmer now, though, right?”

Taehyung sighs. “Only because I’m talking to you. I’ll feel weird and nervous again when you’re gone.”

“Then I’ll stay on the phone until you fall asleep,” Jungkook answers simply, and Taehyung wonders once again what he did to deserve him.

“You might be here a while,” Taehyung says with a nervous chuckle. “Every time I close my eyes I see my parents’ reaction again. They – they looked so…” He trails off again, lost in his thoughts.

“I don’t know the rest of your family, but your parents love you a lot,” Jungkook says softly. “I just – don’t worry too much about them, okay? Something tells me you don’t have to worry about them.”

Taehyung sighs. “Maybe you’re right,” he acquiesces, even though he isn’t convinced. He knows that his parents love him, and that they’re accepting people in general. But their attitude might differ when it concerns their own son. Taehyung has no way of knowing – not until he broaches the subject with them. He’s always too scared to bring it up.

“Even if you don’t believe me, just try not to focus on it too much?” Jungkook suggests.

“Okay, I’ll try,” Taehyung smiles. It never fails to pleasantly surprise him just how well Jungkook can read him. “Am I seeing you after school today?”

“Why do you even need to ask?” Jungkook chuckles. “It’s routine now. The clearing in the park, every day after school, even if it’s only for a quick five minute chat and a goodbye kiss.”

“I’m not sure you needed to say both ‘quick’ and ‘five minute’,” Taehyung comments idly. “We both know that five minutes is quick. Just one or the other would suffice.”

“You wake me up at 2am and then you complain about how I talk when I’m tired?” Jungkook scoffs. “Why do I put up with you?”

Taehyung chuckles softly. “Beats me.” His words are punctuated with a yawn and Jungkook bites back a smile.

“You sound tired,” he comments.

“Hmm,” Taehyung mumbles in agreement. His phone is now resting on his pillow, on loudspeaker so that he can still hear Jungkook’s voice. He’s too sleepy to keep holding it up.

“Goodnight, Tae,” Jungkook says softly, but Taehyung grunts his disapproval.

“I’m not asleep yet. You promised you’d stay with me.”

“It’s pretty hard to have a conversation like this,” Jungkook points out with a short laugh.

“Then don’t,” Taehyung murmurs. “Just monologue. I manage to do it all the time, why can’t you?”

“Have you ever spoken to me?” Jungkook snorts. “You think I’m capable of a monologue?”

“I think you’re capable of anything you set your mind to,” Taehyung responds thoughtlessly, his head already feeling a little heavier on the pillow.

Jungkook laughs quietly. “You’re weird.” He pauses, thinking through the options. “I mean, I… I could sing for you?” he suggests tentatively. “If that’s not weird, or whatever. Lullabies help babies, right?”

“Are you calling me a baby?” Taehyung asks indignantly, although his voice is too sleepy for it to sound like anything more than a childish whine.

“Well, I know it’s one of your favourite nicknames,” Jungkook smirks.

“You sure you won’t wake anyone up by singing to me?” Taehyung asks anxiously.

“I’ll sing quietly,” he promises. And so he sings Taehyung a slow love song, one that he’s sure Taehyung won’t remember in the morning, but that doesn’t matter as long as he manages to get some rest.

A few minutes later, once the song’s finished, he softly says, “Do you want me to sing you another one?” but there’s no response.

After waiting a few seconds longer, hearing Taehyung’s steady breathing on the other end of the line, Jungkook realises that Taehyung must have already fallen asleep. “Goodnight,” he whispers softly into the receiver, before ending the call and falling back to sleep.

 

***

 

On Thursday, when the T-Birds have abandoned their work on the truck for the night to go and annoy LE at the café, they’re very disappointed to find that her section is full. But as they sit down at a different table, J-Hope quickly cheers them up by inviting them all to a house party round his on Saturday.

“What’s it for?” Hani asks interestedly. “Will there be alcohol? _Please_ say there’ll be alcohol. Also, what time? What should I wear?” She glares at him. “Why aren’t you responding?”

Suga glances at her. “Give him half a second to answer and maybe he will, you dick.”

J-Hope laughs at them. “It’s just for fun. It’s an afternoon thing; I thought we could play some board games or whatever. _With_ alcohol,” he clarifies when the others stare at him incredulously.

“What time?” V asks anxiously. He’s supposed to be meeting with Jungkook on Saturday; they wanted to spend the day together. He could’ve sworn he told J-Hope about it already.

“2pm,” J-Hope answers, “but don’t worry, I know you can’t make it.” He looks at Suga and Hani, wiggling his eyebrows. “V already has _plans_.”

V stares at him, wondering what on earth he’s playing at, until he hears Suga and Hani asking about Jennie and he realises – of course they all think his plans are with her. He never actually told his friends that they weren’t together.

Before he can think of anything to say in response, a too-familiar voice is asking, “Hey guys, what can I get you?”

V gulps.

J-Hope’s eyes widen comically as Hani gives their waitress a cheeky smile. “Jennie! We were just talking about you.”

Jennie raises an eyebrow at her, never one to indulge in small talk. “What can I get you?”

“You seem tired,” Hani continues, a twinkle in her eye. “Have you been _occupied_ with your… activities?”

Suga snorts at the phrasing as Jennie frowns in confusion. “I’ve been working, if that’s what you mean,” she says dismissively.

“Working, huh?” Suga pipes up. “Guess I can’t blame you there. He’s pretty hard work if you ask me,” he adds, nodding in V’s direction.

“ _What_?” Jennie says. “Look, I’m busy _here_ , where I’m paid to _work._ So – what can I get you?” she says for the third time. She sounds irritated, but the others aren’t fazed.

“What are you doing after you get off work?” Hani asks interestedly, blatantly avoiding the question.

Jennie raises an eyebrow. “Nothing with _you_ ,” she says pointedly.

Hani blinks rapidly while Suga and J-Hope crack up. “ _No_ , that’s not what I meant. I just wondered if you were planning on hanging out with someone _else._ You know, like on Saturday?”

“V’s been pretty tired lately,” Suga adds with a sly smile. “I get the feeling he’s been pretty busy too, if you know what I mean.”

Jennie stares at them. “I’ll come back once you’ve decided,” she says, clicking her pen closed. “Your friends are weird,” she mutters to V before she leaves.

When she gets back into the kitchen, LE notices her grimace. “Difficult customers?” she asks sympathetically.

“Guess you could call it that,” Jennie says, sounding baffled. “Your friends are out there, smiling at me and asking what I’m doing after my shift. Creeping me out, seriously.”

LE chuckles as she pictures it. “They’re probably just making fun of you and V, now that you’re dating,” she explains.

Jennie glances at her. “What? We’re not dating.”

LE scoffs. “Okay, well, whatever you want to call it.”

“No, we’re really not dating,” Jennie argues. Her voice is calm, if not a little confused. “I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

LE stares at her for a second before she realises Jennie’s being serious. “Oh,” she says smoothly. “I… guess I was mistaken then.” The atmosphere feels awkward now and LE doesn’t want to be here anymore, too many questions whirling through her head. “I’ve got customers,” she explains vaguely before escaping the room. ~~~~

***

 

Jungkook sees his phone light up with a new message as he sits down for lunch on Friday, and it occurs to him that he really needs to change Taehyung’s contact name from those fucking _hearts_ before somebody notices who he’s texting all the time.

**say you’re busy**

the text reads, and Jungkook stares at his phone in confusion.

**what?**

he responds, before Rosé and Jin join him at the table and shake him out of his thoughts.

“Hey guys!” Jisoo says excitedly as she joins them, setting her tray down so that she can give them a twirl, showcasing her new outfit.

Rosé stares at her. “ _What_ are you wearing?”

Jin looks away from his food. “Why are you wearing tracksuit bottoms?” he asks interestedly.

Jisoo stares back at them. “They’re not _tracksuit bottoms_ , oh my God. They’re new, and they’re _fashionable._ Do none of you guys keep up with the trends?”

“Not when they’re stupid,” Rosé says pointedly.

Jin still seems confused. “So, if they’re not tracksuit bottoms, what are they?”

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “You guys are hopeless. _You_ know what they are, Jungkook, right?” she asks expectantly. (She would usually direct this sort of question at Jimin, but he hasn’t arrived yet, so she’ll have to make do.)

Jungkook gulps. “Um, well. They – they _look_ like… like tracksuit bottoms,” he says hesitantly, with the distinct feeling that he’s about to be told off.

Luckily, he’s saved from this disastrous fate by Jimin’s appearance at the table. “Jimin. Thank God. You know what these are, right?” Jisoo asks, gesturing to her trousers.

“Oh, they’re those new fancy suit trouser things, right?” Jimin asks as he sits down.

“Ha!” Jisoo cheers triumphantly.

Jimin shrugs. “I don’t really get it, to be honest. They just look like tracksuit bottoms.”

Jisoo frowns, looking disappointed. “But… _guys._ I thought these would look really cool if I wore them to Lisa’s party next weekend. Do you not think they’re cute enough?”

“Lisa’s party?” Rosé repeats, a cheeky grin appearing on her face.

“Yeah,” Jisoo responds obliviously. “It’s her birthday today, and I’m going to her party next Saturday. Did I not mention it yet? I have no clue why I wouldn’t have done; I’m _freaking out._ ”

“What has you freaking out, Chi Chu?” Jimin asks, mirroring Rosé’s playful grin.

“I need to look my best,” Jisoo whines as she slumps into a seat at the table, having suddenly lost her appetite. “She’s so cool, you know? If I turn up looking like an idiot then she’s going to wonder why she even bothered inviting me.”

Jin smiles kindly, taking pity on her. “I’m sure she’ll think you look great, Chi Chu. Don’t worry about it.”

Jisoo shakes her head. “Not if she has the same reaction as you lot.”

“Then don’t wear the tracksuit bottoms,” Rosé snorts.

Jisoo glares at her. “They’re _not_ tracksuit bottoms.”

Rosé laughs at her reaction. “Come on, you can come round mine before the party and I’ll help you choose something. You’re going to look _hot._ ”

Jisoo scoffs. “I don’t need to look _hot_ , Ro. Just presentable. I don’t want Lisa to think I just rolled out of bed without bothering to get changed.”

Jimin stifles a laugh. “Then you _definitely_ shouldn’t wear the tracksuit bottoms.”

“Hey, guys,” J-Hope says as he appears at their table. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Only them _bullying_ me,” Jisoo says pointedly.

Rosé smirks. “Ignore her. What’s up?”

“I just wondered what you’re all doing on Saturday,” J-Hope responds.

“Next Saturday I’m going to Lisa’s birthday party,” Jisoo announces excitedly.

“I actually meant tomorrow,” J-Hope explains awkwardly.

“Oh,” Jisoo says, deflating a little. “Well – nothing. I was thinking of dragging Jimin out shopping, though. Why?”

“Forget your shopping plans,” J-Hope says excitedly. “You’re all invited to an impromptu party at my house!”

Jungkook looks at J-Hope in confusion, because he thought J-Hope knew that he and Taehyung were planning to meet up with each other tomorrow. But then he thinks of Taehyung’s text, and it starts to make sense. “I have to study,” Jungkook announces awkwardly, hoping it sounds natural enough that the others won’t question it.

“Okay, whatever,” J-Hope says easily. “The rest of you aren’t getting off so easily, though. It starts at 2pm.”

Rosé stares at him. “What? Why so early?”

“ _Because_ ,” J-Hope responds informatively.

Rosé grimaces. “Sometimes you really confuse me.”

J-Hope grins. “You love it.”

 

***

 

When Taehyung knocks on the front door five minutes early to pick Jungkook up for their date, he expects Jungkook to open the door himself. Or maybe his mother, because that isn’t an uncommon occurrence. But instead, Taehyung finds himself stood in front of a man he doesn’t recognise and for a second he wonders whether he somehow got the wrong house, until it occurs to him that this must be Jungkook’s father.

“I’m – uh, here to see Jungkook?” Taehyung says hesitantly as Jungkook’s father stares at him expectantly.

“Oh,” Mr Jeon says as a look of recognition crosses his face, and Taehyung immediately understands where Jungkook’s eloquence comes from. “You must be Taehyung. Come on in.”

Taehyung follows Jungkook’s father inside, feeling more than a little nervous. He can’t see any signs of either Jungkook or Mrs Jeon as he walks from the kitchen through to the living room, and it hits him that he’s going to have to try and hold a conversation with Jungkook’s father while he waits for one of them to appear.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Mr Jeon begins as he sits down on the sofa, gesturing for Taehyung to do the same. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“The same goes for you,” Taehyung says honestly. He has a feeling he must have seen Jungkook’s father before, but if he has then it has only been at a distance, with no proper introduction. Taehyung usually meets Jungkook after school in the park nowadays, and if he goes round Jungkook’s house then he’s gone before Jungkook’s father gets home from work. ~~~~

“You’re more… made-up than I expected,” Mr Jeon comments slowly, and Taehyung winces, wondering whether he went too overboard on the makeup. He applied his signature eyeliner before leaving home, as well as adding some subtle purple eyeshadow, with the goal of looking his very best for Jungkook on this rare occasion they have the opportunity to go out together. Now he’s afraid Mr Jeon thinks his son should be dating someone who isn’t so focused on appearance.

“I don’t usually wear this much makeup,” Taehyung says, hurrying to defend himself. “It’s just because it’s a special occasion.”

“Is your date with my son really such a special occasion?” Jungkook’s father says with raised eyebrows. He doesn’t look judging – merely surprised, if not a little curious – but Taehyung feels judged regardless.

“It’s not just that,” he says quickly, before reminding himself to stop acting so defensive. He does _drama_ – he can make a good impression on _anyone._ That’s the beauty of learning about the powers of body language. “There’s been a lot more pressure at school after exam week finished. I wanted to treat Jungkook, since he’s been working so hard lately,” he explains, hoping that this will help portray him in a good light, as he sits up a little straighter in his seat.

“You’re in the middle of your A Levels as well, as far as I can recall. I presume you’ve been working hard too, yes?” Mr Jeon continues with a raised eyebrow, leaning back on the sofa. (Taehyung _definitely_ feels judged now.)

“Of course, sir,” he says in reply. He has no idea where the ‘sir’ comes from, but he puts it down to nerves.

Mr Jeon’s mouth twitches in response, amused by the situation but not letting it show, and again Taehyung is reminded of Jungkook. They have the same small smile.

“Which subjects are you taking?” Mr Jeon asks conversationally. He’s sitting comfortably now, his posture not intimidating in the slightest, but Taehyung is sitting stock still and trying his best not to slouch. He has no idea why he’s so _nervous_ , but he thinks that maybe if Jungkook were here, it would be different. Having to meet the parents on his _own_ is just cruel, seriously.

“Biology, PE and Drama,” Taehyung answers, unable to stop the proud smile that appears on his face when he says ‘drama’. It’s the one subject he feels like he really has something to offer.

“Drama, huh?” Jungkook’s father says, looking a little sceptical. “That’s… practical.”

Taehyung bites his lip. “It’s not a doss subject, if that’s what you’re worried about. I actually take it very seriously. I’ve applied to drama school for next year.”

Thinking about it, maybe this isn’t the best thing Taehyung could have said, because the next thing he knows, Jungkook’s father is responding, “Don’t you think you should be pursuing something a little more serious?”

Taehyung gulps and, as he launches into explanations of the different career paths drama training can lead to and how it isn’t as unreliable as it sounds, he gives up on Jungkook appearing any time soon.

 

***

 

“Mum, have you heard the bell go yet?” Jungkook asks when he sees her walking past his bedroom, vacuum cleaner in hand. He feels a little disappointed even though he won’t let it show. Taehyung was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago.

“I’m not sure, honey,” Mrs Jeon says apologetically after turning off the vacuum cleaner. “I’ve been upstairs too; you must have heard me hoovering in the other room.” She looks at her son sympathetically. “Maybe he’s just running late?”

“Maybe,” Jungkook says hesitantly, because if Taehyung was running late, he would usually text him to let him know. He hopes Taehyung hasn’t forgotten about their plans. “I’m going to go wait downstairs,” Jungkook announces before standing up and heading into the hallway.

His mother nods and continues hoovering, but as soon as Jungkook reaches the bottom of the staircase he immediately understands why Taehyung is so late for their date.

“You’re telling me that your parents are happy with you going to drama school, even if you get offers from respectable universities to study Biology?” Jungkook’s father asks incredulously as Jungkook approaches them. Taehyung’s eyes meet Jungkook’s, silently pleading for help.

“ _Dad_ ,” Jungkook says, extremely embarrassed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just getting to know Taehyung,” Mr Jeon says with a smile, not seeming to notice Jungkook’s tone of voice. “Did you know that he’s applying to drama school?”

“Of course I did,” Jungkook says grouchily, almost more defensive over the issue than Taehyung is himself.

“I doubt you’ve considered how Taehyung’s university choices will affect his future. Have you not spoken to him about studying Biology instead?” Mr Jeon says insistently, seeming more confused than anything else.

“He doesn’t like Biology. And he’s really good at Drama, Dad, you should see him act,” Jungkook argues. “Stop interrogating him.”

Mr Jeon blinks in surprise. “I wasn’t interrogating anyone, Jungkook. We were having a pleasant conversation about the future.”

“How long have you been here?” Jungkook asks Taehyung apprehensively.

“About 20 minutes,” Taehyung replies with a wry smile.

Just when Jungkook is about to suggest that, as nice as it is for his father to try and bond with his boyfriend, they really should get going, Jungkook’s mother walks down the stairs. “I heard voices. Did Taehyung finally arrive?” she says conversationally, vacuum cleaner in hand.

“He’s been here for 20 minutes,” Jungkook responds curtly, his voice coming out a little harsher than he intends it to. If his mother hadn’t been vacuuming upstairs, he would have heard the bell go and interrupted this conversation much sooner.

“I was talking to Taehyung about his university choices,” Jungkook’s father explains.

“Oh, wonderful!” Mrs Jeon exclaims, walking over to them and squeezing onto the sofa. “I’ve been meaning to ask Jungkook about that myself. So, Taehyung, tell me. What are your plans for university?”

Jungkook gulps and sits down, putting his hand on Taehyung’s knee and squeezing it as a silent apology. He has a feeling they’re going to be here for a while.

 

***

 

“That was torture,” Taehyung says in a hushed whisper as he and Jungkook escape the house at 2:45pm.

“I’m so sorry,” Jungkook groans. “I had no idea that was going to happen.”

“Clearly, or I think some sort of warning would have been in order,” Taehyung huffs. “Did you hear him lecture me? He’s worse than my parents.”

“He’s very business-oriented,” Jungkook explains, looking down at the floor in embarrassment. “He did offer you a job, though.”

“In market research,” Taehyung deadpans. “I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I do know that I’m in no way qualified for it. I don’t even… Jesus, is talking to your parents really meant to be that difficult? It’s not like I’ve proposed to you, or whatever. Why is he acting like we’re getting married?”

Jungkook blushes. “I don’t know. He’s just being prepared, I guess?” He chances a glance at Taehyung and blushes again for no good reason. “Anyway, if he’s going to disapprove of our relationship, at least it’s because of your career choices and not because of the fact you’re a guy.” He means it as a joke, of course; to lighten the mood, but he should have known that it was the wrong thing to say.

Taehyung gulps, immediately looking more distant. “Yeah. At least you can depend on your parents for that. Must be nice, right?”

Jungkook looks at him in alarm. “Shit, Tae, I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” Taehyung dismisses quickly. “It doesn’t matter.”

“But it does,” Jungkook protests, more softly this time. He looks down at the ground guiltily, before deciding it’s best to change the subject. “You look really great tonight, by the way.”

Taehyung bites back a smile, his mood immediately lifting. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook chuckles. “I mean, when I saw you sitting in the living room, my first thought was ‘holy shit, Taehyung’s already here and he’s being interrogated by my father’, but then my second thought was ‘holy shit, Taehyung’s wearing purple eyeshadow’.”

Taehyung laughs. “Thank you for that insight into your thought processes. I feel much better informed now.”

“Shut up,” Jungkook laughs. “I thought you liked it when I compliment you.”

“I do,” Taehyung grins.

“You feeling any better yet?” Jungkook asks with a cheeky smile.

Taehyung rolls his eyes fondly. “Maybe.” He turns to face Jungkook, a soft smile on his face. “Thanks for not being mad at me. I know you weren’t trying to make a reference to my parents – I just…”

“I know,” Jungkook says gently, cutting him off. “It’s okay.”

Taehyung sighs, sounding exhausted. “I need to tell them.”

Jungkook looks at him carefully, because what does he say to that? ‘ _Yes, obviously’_? ‘ _No, you don’t have to’_? “Well, if you want,” he responds after a moment’s deliberation.

Taehyung scoffs. “It’s not what I _want_.”

Jungkook frowns, confused. “Then… don’t?”

Taehyung smiles sadly. “I don’t want to tell them. But they need to know.”

Jungkook smiles at him consolingly. “So, we’ve got the whole afternoon free. Where do you want to go?”

“I mean, I need to buy a couple of new shirts?” Taehyung suggests tentatively. “I usually go shopping with Hani, but seeing as you’re here…”

“That could be fun,” Jungkook interrupts. “We’ve never been shopping together before.” He nudges Taehyung’s arm as they walk. “You’ll tell J-Hope thank you from me, right? For today?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung smiles. Honestly, he didn’t realise what J-Hope was doing at first. But he clearly remembered Taehyung complaining about how the only times he and Jungkook could go out together were when they knew none of their friends would be in town, so J-Hope arranged things this way for the afternoon. Just so that Taehyung could actually hang out with his boyfriend in public.

“I’m excited about today,” Jungkook continues, a shy smile spreading on his face. “You sure you won’t be embarrassed to be seen with me?” He’s teasing, of course, but Taehyung thinks he hears Jungkook’s voice waver a bit.

“I’m never embarrassed to be seen with you,” he admonishes gently, nudging Jungkook’s shoulder with his own. “This will be fun.”

 

***

 

Jungkook quickly realises that agreeing to go shopping with Taehyung was basically the equivalent of agreeing to an early death. Because Taehyung in this button-down is _killing_ him.

“I’m not really sure,” Taehyung says, inspecting himself in the mirror again. He already opened the changing room curtain to get Jungkook’s opinion, whose mouth immediately went dry. “It’s nice, but it’s different to what I usually wear. Do you think it actually suits me?”

Jungkook blinks. “Uh, yeah. You should get that one. Definitely.”

Taehyung smirks. “You alright?”

“Yeah, great,” Jungkook says quickly, his voice strained. He looks down at the ground, suddenly very interested in his shoelaces.

“Can you take a picture of me in it?” Taehyung asks after a minute. “This mirror makes me look really weird, I think I need a different angle.”

“Um, sure,” Jungkook responds, getting out his phone to take a picture as Taehyung poses with a peace sign for the photo. “Cute,” he chuckles as the shutter sound goes off, then blushes when he realises he’s said it out loud. He’s glad the changing rooms are empty right now.

Taehyung grins. “Well if you think it makes me look cute, I have to get it.”

“It’s not the shirt that makes you cute, Tae,” Jungkook responds immediately, but then he blushes again. He has no idea where his brain-to-mouth filter has gone. “Um. I’ve just sent you the picture, by the way.”

Taehyung doesn’t bother to check his phone. “Your opinion is better than any picture, Kookie.” His grin widens when Jungkook blushes for a third time. “You going to try anything else on while we’re here?”

Jungkook shrugs. “Nah, I’m done.”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow at him. “In that case, you have time to try on one more thing while I finish up in here,” he says, pulling out a shirt from behind all the other shirts hanging in the changing room. But no, this is no ordinary shirt. That would be too easy. The best way to describe it is probably ‘leopard print leather with an exotic bird colour scheme’.

Jungkook gapes. “I’m _not_ wearing that.”

Taehyung pouts. “Please?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Where did you even find that? I didn’t see you pick it up. I feel like I would have _noticed_ something like that.”

“The sales rack,” Taehyung responds brightly.

“Of course,” Jungkook grumbles.

“Come on, Kookie. For me?” Taehyung pleads, holding out the shirt for him to take (if it can even be given such an elevated title, Jungkook thinks to himself bitterly).

“I hate you,” Jungkook mumbles under his breath as he heads into the changing room next to Taehyung, taking the shirt from him on his way.

A few minutes later, Jungkook is stood there, a scowl on his face as he models what is essentially a leather parrot, as Taehyung laughs hysterically at him.

“Oh my God, this is gold,” Taehyung wheezes.

Jungkook fidgets. “Can I take it off now?” He left his own t-shirt underneath to make sure the fabric didn’t irritate his skin, but it still feels uncomfortable.

Taehyung smirks at him. “You need my permission to get undressed? Wow, I’m always learning new things about you.”

Jungkook narrows his eyes. “I’m so done with you.”

Taehyung ignores the comment. “Seriously, have you seen yourself in this? It’s amazing.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “I didn’t want to put my eyes through that torture.” But before Jungkook can protest, Taehyung is snapping a picture of Jungkook in the leather parrot shirt, scowl and all. He quickly rushes to Jungkook’s side to show it to him and Jungkook barks out a surprised laugh when he sees it. “God, I look awful.”

“Well, you don’t look _awful_ ,” Taehyung contemplates. “That would kind of be difficult because you’re, you know, _you_. But there are definitely shirts that suit you more.”

Jungkook snorts as he glances at the picture again. “Oh my God. I have to show this to Junghwa, she’ll completely lose her shit.”

Taehyung grins before pressing a few buttons on his phone. “I just sent it to you.” He frowns when Jungkook’s phone screen lights up. “Who’s Dave?”

Jungkook freezes. “It’s you,” he explains awkwardly as he locks his phone, feeling embarrassed even though he shouldn’t have to. “Surprise?”

Taehyung stares at him. “Why ‘Dave’?”

“Well, I don’t know any Daves,” Jungkook explains.

Taehyung starts laughing. “Oh my God. You’re such a fucking weirdo.”

Jungkook blushes, but he can’t hold back the proud smile for making his boyfriend laugh like that. “Well. I had to change your contact name. At least I didn’t save it as ‘Mum’ or something.”

Taehyung laughs even harder. “What the hell? Why would you do _that_? People would just think you were texting your parents all the time?”

“At least it wouldn’t be suspicious,” Jungkook says defensively.

“But wouldn’t you confuse it with your actual mum?” Taehyung points out.

Jungkook pauses thoughtfully. “I’d just change her name to ‘Real Mum’.”

“So what would I be, ‘Fake Mum’?” Taehyung snorts.

“Maybe ‘Mum 2’,” Jungkook contemplates.

“Why would you have two mums?” Taehyung grins. “Considering the fact that, you know, you don’t _have_ two mums.”

“One could be a second phone number or something? Jesus, I didn’t actually _do_ it, stop attacking me,” Jungkook protests.

“Okay, sorry,” Taehyung says, laughing even as he holds his hands up in surrender.

“Whatever,” Jungkook huffs. “Are you going to try on your next shirt, or what?”

“I’m all done, babe,” Taehyung responds, his eyes twinkling. “Are you buying that shirt?”

“It doesn’t deserve to be called a shirt,” Jungkook answers without preamble. “It doesn’t deserve to be _bought_.”

“Shut up, it can hear you!” Taehyung squeaks, surging forward suddenly to put his hands on Jungkook’s chest.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook frowns.

“Covering the parrot’s ears,” Taehyung answers, as if it should be obvious, and Jungkook laughs.

“Sure. And _I’m_ the weirdo.” He smiles as Taehyung kisses him gently on the lips. “Come on, let’s go.”

Taehyung follows Jungkook as they walk out of the changing rooms, a smirk on his face that Jungkook can’t quite place.

“Why didn’t you _tell_ me?” Jungkook whinges when the woman at the till asks if he’s buying the shirt he’s wearing as well. He then rushes back to the changing rooms, leaving Taehyung there to laugh at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> props to my sister for suggesting that jk names tae as ‘dave’ in his phone for no apparent reason
> 
> also shoutout to my friend for always making me try on something ridiculous whenever we go shopping
> 
> thanks for reading! comment if you want, it always makes me smile ^^ see you next time :D


	30. just you wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa’s birthday party!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit more focused on jisoo and lisa, because they’re cute and it makes the gay in me very happy
> 
> it’s a bit shorter than usual but I hope you like it! ^^

“Hey, so – now it’s the Easter holidays,” Jungkook begins, once he’s caught his breath. He’s stood in the park with Taehyung on Friday afternoon, hands on his waist. “That means we have more time to see each other, right?”

“Right,” Taehyung agrees. His lips are bright red and swollen from the way Jungkook’s been kissing him for the past ten minutes and the thought that _he_ did that makes Jungkook grin.

“ _So_ … do you want to come over on Monday?”

Taehyung pretends to think about it. “I mean, that depends. I don’t _really_ want to have a re-enactment of that conversation with your parents, but as long as you can ensure they won’t try to talk to me again –”

“Tae,” Jungkook interrupts with a chuckle. “It’s Monday. They’re working.” His hands slide from Taehyung’s waist down to his hips. “We’ll have the house all to ourselves.”

Taehyung bites his lip as he tries not to overthink what Jungkook means. (Knowing him, he’ll probably just use his newfound freedom to watch superhero films all day.) “Yeah, okay,” Taehyung nods. “That sounds really nice.”

“Good.” Jungkook smiles harder before kissing him again.

 

***

 

“Jisoo!” Lisa says excitedly when she spots the girl she’s been dreaming of for the past two months chatting to some of her friends. Lisa has been so busy with her other guests that she didn’t even notice Jisoo walking through the door – the door of _her_ house, here to see _her_ – but now she’s seen Jisoo, she can’t help herself from making a beeline towards her.

“Hi!” Jisoo says with just as much excitement, turning away from Lisa’s friends to greet the birthday girl. “Happy birthday!” she squeals. Lisa definitely doesn’t miss the way Jisoo’s smile is wider now that she’s talking to her and not just to Lisa’s friends – and maybe it’s because Lisa is the only one here that Jisoo really knows, but Lisa can’t stop herself from hoping that _maybe_ it’s because Jisoo feels something for her too.

She thinks she’s going to make a move on her tonight.

“Thank you,” Lisa grins as she gives her a tight hug. “God, you smell amazing,” she announces as she pulls away – partly because she enjoys shameless flirting, but mainly because she’s already fairly tipsy.

Jisoo simply laughs. “Thanks. It’s new perfume, and now I’m wishing I’d got you some for your birthday, but I’m a shit friend and forgot to get you a present.”

Lisa shrugs, unconcerned. “We’re not all that close; I’m not offended. I’m really glad you could make it though,” she says honestly.

“Me too!” Jisoo smiles. Jisoo’s lipstick matches her bright red hair and Lisa’s mouth is opening again before she can think it through.

“I’m surprised your hair is still this colour.” She reaches out a hand to mindlessly play with Jisoo’s hair as she talks. “Didn’t you say it was temporary dye?”

“Yeah,” Jisoo shrugs, not bothered by Lisa’s actions, which Lisa takes as permission to move closer; one hand still playing with Jisoo’s hair while the other slides down to her neck, playing with the collar of her dress. “I guess the red hair dye really likes me or something. It was meant to come out after a month, but here we are.” Jisoo doesn’t think it’s particularly funny, but Lisa laughs, bright and beautiful as always. “Is that a new dress? It looks really cute,” Jisoo continues, gesturing to Lisa’s outfit. It’s a pastel pink lace dress, off the shoulder and cinched at the waist. It accentuates her figure.

Jisoo is struggling to pinpoint exactly what it is, but there’s something different about Lisa tonight that makes her look even more stunning than usual.

“Thanks!” Lisa says happily. “Yeah, it’s new. I kind of prefer yours, though.” Now the hand in Jisoo’s hair moves down to her arm, feeling the smooth material of her dress. “It’s soft, too,” she comments absentmindedly.

“My dress is just black though; it wouldn’t help you to stand out,” Jisoo points out with a smile, as she makes a mental note to thank Rosé for letting her borrow her dress tonight.

“You don’t think I’d stand out anyway?” Lisa smirks, one eyebrow raised.

“True,” Jisoo acknowledges, giving Lisa a once over. The beautiful pink dress doesn’t really explain why _Lisa_ looks so beautiful, and Jisoo is about to ask whether she’s wearing new makeup or something, when Lisa starts to fiddle with one of her earrings.

Jisoo giggles, squirming under Lisa’s fingertips. “What are you doing? That _tickles_.”

“Just playing,” Lisa replies, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “These are really pretty, by the way. They suit you. Anyway,” she continues, taking a decisive step back, “shall we get you a drink?”

Jisoo grins, deciding not to think too hard about the butterflies in her stomach or the tingling sensation Lisa’s fingers left on her skin. “ _God_ , yes.”

 

***

 

It’s interesting being around Lisa’s friends and seeing how she interacts with all of them. How she’ll pull them up to dance; tell them how great they look when they feel self-conscious about their dancing; hug them tightly and thank them for being here. But there’s something different about the way she treats Jisoo – something different about the way she keeps touching her hair, hugging her from behind, pulling her up to dance when her favourite songs come on – as if everything is a little more intimate.

It isn’t until around 1am that Jisoo realises why Lisa is acting so differently around her. Lisa is still waiting for a response, but Jisoo thinks she _must_ have misheard because the music is so loud and her head is feeling rather fuzzy. The only thing Jisoo can do is bewilderedly ask her to repeat the question.

“I _said_ ,” Lisa says patiently, assuming her lack of understanding has something to do with the alcohol coursing through her system, “do you want to give me a special birthday kiss?” The smile is still on her lips, and Jisoo can’t quite tell if she’s joking or not. “I mean – you didn’t get me a present, so technically you owe me,” she continues with a light laugh.

Jisoo blinks. And maybe it’s the alcohol that makes her do it, or maybe it’s the way Lisa is smiling at her so expectantly, but the next thing Jisoo knows she’s leant forward and kissed Lisa gently on the cheek.

Lisa blushes, her eyes widening and her smile stretching like maybe she didn’t expect Jisoo to actually _do_ it.

“Sorry I didn’t get you an _actual_ present,” Jisoo mumbles, just to fill the sudden silence.

Lisa grins. “No need to be sorry. That was the best present you could’ve given me.” Then, because she’s tipsy and it’s her birthday and she likes to push her luck, she asks, “Any chance of a kiss on the lips?”

“I doubt it,” Jisoo laughs good-naturedly. “I’m straight.” She doesn’t understand why the statement makes her heart feel a little heavier; like she’s lying about something.

Lisa gapes, any trace of amusement draining from her face. “You’re _kidding._ ”

Jisoo raises an eyebrow. “No?”

“God, seriously?” Lisa says disbelievingly. “I mean – not that I don’t believe you, but – I just… don’t really _believe_ you,” she admits.

Jisoo giggles. (Apparently she’s drunk enough to find this whole thing hilarious.) “I get that a lot. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be gay if you want me to.” That last sentence definitely doesn’t come out how she intends it to, but Lisa doesn’t seem to mind, so she doesn’t bother correcting herself.

“You’re so _cool_ ,” Lisa says with a bright smile. “Oh my _God_ , I can’t believe I made you _kiss_ me,” she laughs. It’s partly out of embarrassment, but mainly it’s because she’s a little bit drunk and is finding the whole thing pretty damn funny.

“You didn’t _make_ me,” Jisoo chuckles. “I could’ve said no.”

“Yeah,” Lisa agrees, pausing like she’s contemplating something. “You could’ve done. But you didn’t.”

Jisoo shrugs, not seeing what the big deal is. “It was your birthday wish.”

“Yeah, because I have this massive fucking crush on you,” Lisa snorts. “God forgive me for falling for a _straight_ girl, I swore I’d never make _that_ mistake again.”

“You have a crush on me?” Jisoo asks, a soft smile spreading across her face. She feels… flattered _._

That’s what this feeling is, right?

“Yeah, that’s not weird, is it?” Lisa asks, suddenly panicking and wondering if it’s too late to backtrack. “It just _happened_ , like, you’re so _cute_ – but then you’re so hot when you want to be, and it’s just – shit, I’m making this worse, aren’t I?”

Jisoo giggles, feeling a faint blush creeping across her cheeks. “No, you’re not. It’s cool. It’s – nice to hear.” In some distant part of her mind, she wonders why she never gets this flustered when boys compliment her.

“Thank God,” Lisa smiles, relieved. “Straight people usually get so _weird_ when gay people have a crush on them. You’d think they would take it as a compliment, but whatever.”

Jisoo grins. “Yeah, being liked is always nice. I’m flattered, really.” She isn’t lying: something about the idea of Lisa crushing on her makes her feel… giddy, for lack of a better word. Maybe it’s because, objectively, Lisa is _extremely_ attractive, and it’s good to know that Lisa isn’t out of her league. You know, hypothetically.

That’s clearly what it is.

But even with the knowledge that Lisa has only been reaching for Jisoo’s hand and playing with her hair and talking to her all night because she has a _crush_ on her – _Jisoo_ , the girl who is obviously _straight_ and has no interest whatsoever in a relationship with Lisa – Jisoo still feels relieved when Lisa doesn’t treat her any differently after the revelation. And if she kisses Lisa’s cheek again a few shots later, as a goodnight kiss just because she wants to, then nobody needs to know.

 

***

 

“Sorry for arranging this so late,” Rosé announces as she sits down in the café. She doesn’t seem sorry; a bright grin plastered on her face as she looks at Jin and Jimin from across the table. “I just couldn’t wait any longer to find out how Jisoo got on at Lisa’s party and she wouldn’t _talk_ to me about it.” Her grin falters when she takes a good look around and doesn’t see anyone else she knows. “Wait, where’s Jungkook?” she frowns.

Jimin shrugs. “He told me he was busy.”

Rosé raises an eyebrow. “Too busy for Jisoo’s lesbian revelation?”

Jin laughs. “Lay off. She’s probably just as clueless as she was last week.”

Rosé shrugs. “If she’s still clueless, I don’t know why she’s being so secretive about the whole thing.”

“Probably just to annoy you,” Jimin grins.

Rosé doesn’t get a chance to respond because at that moment, Jisoo walks into the café. “So? How was the party?” Rosé asks excitedly as soon as Jisoo is close enough to hear her.

Jisoo knows that she’s looking for gossip, and she also knows that Rosé won’t be disappointed. “Really great!” she responds enthusiastically as she hangs her Pink Lady jacket on the back of her seat and sits down next to Rosé. “I had so much fun, met loads of Lisa’s friends and talked to her a lot too – plus she said I looked great,” she says, her eyes twinkling. “Oh. And I think I understand why you guys are always teasing me about her, now,” she adds on casually.

Jin’s eyes widen in surprise. “Seriously? You do?”

“Told you,” Rosé mumbles, nudging Jin’s foot under the table, who glares at her and kicks her away.

“Yeah,” Jisoo shrugs. “She made a move on me at the party.”

Jimin beams. “Oh my God, that’s great! What did you do?” he asks excitedly, leaning forward in his seat.

Jisoo frowns at him. “I told her I was straight.”

Rosé stares at her in disbelief. “You _didn’t._ ”

Jisoo raises an eyebrow. “I did. What’s wrong with that?”

Rosé rolls her eyes. “You’re a fucking liability, I swear to God,” she mutters.

Jisoo glares at her. “What the hell is your _problem_?”

Rosé sighs, frustrated. “Sure, _I’m_ the one with the problem.” She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll be back later,” she announces as she stands up, before leaving the café.

Jin looks at Jisoo sympathetically. He knows that Rosé is only mad at Jisoo for letting the perfect opportunity slip by to actually be in a happy relationship with someone, but he also knows Rosé well enough to know that she’ll regret her words later. You can’t rush someone to realise their sexuality – something that Rosé, despite her valiant attempts, will never quite understand.

“Don’t mind her, Chi Chu,” Jin says gently, taking her hand in his. “I’m glad you had a good time at the party.”

Jisoo smiles slightly, her features softening. “Thanks. It’s nice to be liked, you know?” She looks down at the table, uncharacteristically shy. “If any girl is going to have a crush on me, I’m glad it’s her.”

 

***

 

“So, you ready to spend the day together?” Taehyung asks with a bright grin when Jungkook opens the door.

Jungkook nods, letting him in without a word.

Taehyung frowns at him as Jungkook closes the door. “What’s wrong?” he asks anxiously. “Did something happen?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “No, I’m fine. I just – I’ve been thinking…” He looks at the ground, seeming upset, and Taehyung can feel his brain going into overdrive. He hopes he’s just overreacting, but he can feel the panic setting in. Why does he get the feeling that Jungkook is about to break up with him?

“Thinking about what?” Taehyung asks, his voice strained.

“Come on, let’s sit down,” Jungkook says gently, which doesn’t do anything to ease Taehyung’s worries.

Once they’re sat together on the sofa, Jungkook looks at him apprehensively. “I was thinking,” he repeats nervously, “about when we went shopping together, and you got me to take a picture of you, remember?”

Taehyung has no idea where this is going, but he nods in understanding.

“Well,” Jungkook says, blushing a little, “I really like having a photo of you on my phone. I never mentioned it before – I mean, you’d never suggested it and I assumed you didn’t want to, in case anyone found the photos, or something. But – I like having a photo that reminds me of you.” He looks down at the ground. “But I also don’t know how much you really thought it through… so if you want me to delete it, I will.”

Taehyung stares at his boyfriend. “Let me get this straight. You’re asking me whether you should delete the photo you have of me on your phone? That’s it?”

Jungkook looks at him in confusion. “Yeah? What did you think I was asking?”

Taehyung exhales sharply. “Fuck, Jungkook, I don’t really know but you were _scaring_ me. I thought you were going to break up with me or something.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen in panic. “ _No_ , God no,” he says, shifting closer to Taehyung on the sofa so that he can intertwine their fingers. “I just – I know this is a sensitive issue, and I didn’t want to bring it up out of nowhere. Anyway, like I said, if you want me to, I’ll delete the picture and we don’t have to ever mention it again.”

Taehyung looks at him, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “How are you so amazing?”

Jungkook blinks. “What?”

“You’re incredible,” Taehyung mumbles, leaning closer to kiss him gently on the lips. “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?”

Jungkook gulps. “Well, yeah.”

“Baby…” Taehyung says fondly. “Just put the picture it in a protected folder. That’s what I did.”

Jungkook stares at him blankly.

Taehyung chuckles. “Don’t worry, I can show you how to do it. Actually, I was thinking I’d like to take some more pictures together – I never realised how much I wanted a picture of you on my phone until I had one of you in a stupid t-shirt looking really angry at me.” He chuckles. “I’d like a nice one of you, too.”

Jungkook smiles bashfully. “Maybe we could take a couple more today?”

“I’d really like that,” Taehyung smiles back.

They sit there for a second, grinning at each other, until the sound of a notification on Jungkook’s phone breaks them out of the moment.

Taehyung reaches for Jungkook’s phone, rolling his eyes fondly at his boyfriend. “I’m turning this on silent, babe. No one’s interrupting us today.”

Jungkook chuckles. “You’re not even going to tell me what the notification is?”

Taehyung looks at the phone again, snorting once he reads what’s on the screen. “It’s a text from Jimin. Surprise surprise, Jisoo still doesn’t know she’s gay.”

Jungkook smirks. “Damn, Rosé must be so disappointed. She really thought Jisoo had figured things out this time.”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow when another text comes through. “Talking of Rosé, she’s just texted you as well. Am I missing something? Why’s she mad at you for ditching her today?” He hands Jungkook his phone back, not seeming quite so happy anymore. “You didn’t tell me you had plans with the Pink Ladies. We could’ve done this a different day.”

Jungkook shrugs, locking his phone and putting it down on the table, ignoring the texts for now. “Rosé didn’t suggest anything until this morning, and I’ve been looking forward to this all weekend. I can see her a different day, too, remember,” he grins. “Today is for us.”

Taehyung sighs. “Well – if you’re sure. Don’t let me get in the way of your social life, though.” Jungkook doesn’t know why he’s making such a big deal about it until he continues, “You already don’t share as much as you want to with your friends and I know it’s my fault and I just… I feel really bad.”

“You’re not getting in the way of anything,” Jungkook says softly, kissing him again. “You’re here with me today because I _want_ you to be.”

Taehyung smirks. “Don’t I have any say in the matter?” he jokes.

Jungkook scoffs. “Please. You don’t have a say in _anything._ ” He puts his hand on top of Taehyung’s, his smile growing softer by the second. “Stop ignoring what I’m trying to tell you. I _want_ you here. I want _you._ ”

And there are those words again; the words he hasn’t said since the night he and Taehyung got caught kissing each other in the street. Taehyung doesn’t know whether Jungkook means them in the same way as he did before, but either way, those three words – _I want you –_ are enough for Taehyung to stop worrying about everything and give in to the moment; give in to Jungkook.

“And what exactly do you want from me, Kookie?” he asks, smirking at him playfully. But it’s a serious question.

“I want to make out with you for the next couple of hours,” Jungkook grins, already pushing Taehyung backwards on the sofa to climb on top of him. “And then I want to take cute couple photos together and laugh about how disgustingly cute we look. Then we can make out some more.”

And, well, Taehyung can’t argue with that.

 

***

 

When the T-Birds and Pink Ladies all meet up in town later that week, the Pink Ladies are quick to question Jungkook about what had him so busy on Monday.

“ _Some_ people actually have exams next month,” he answers without missing a beat. It’s a good argument; the exams for year 13s don’t start until after May half term, but his and Rosé’s exams will begin as soon as they get back from the Easter holidays.

“I have exams next month and _I_ could make it,” Rosé argues, still a little salty that Jungkook thought his exams were more important than her. But Jungkook can guess that it comes from her own insecurity about being important, rather than anything on Jungkook’s end.

“Yeah, well, I clearly take school more seriously than you,” Jungkook teases, flashing a cheeky grin at her to let her know that he doesn’t mean anything rude by it.

She rolls her eyes in response. “You’re going to make me feel so bad about myself next year, I swear. With the others gone, I’ll only have your work ethic for comparison. I’ll need to find myself a new Jisoo.”

Jisoo gapes. “Hey!” she protests. “I _work_ , thank you.”

“If painting your nails in class counts as working,” Suga comments snidely.

Jisoo pouts. “Jimin, make him stop,” she says indignantly.

Jimin giggles. “He has a point.”

“Whatever,” she scoffs.

Eventually, and to no one’s surprise, they all end up in the café. They order some drinks, and then Jungkook makes the mistake of leaving his phone on the table when he goes to the toilet.

“You still didn’t change your password, even after what happened last time?” Jimin asks him disbelievingly when he sits back down.

“I did,” Jungkook argues, trying to hide his panic when he notices Rosé and Jin looking at his phone. “Am I really that easy to work out? I swear to God I changed it.”

Jimin sighs. “Look, don’t worry, I think they’re just looking through your camera roll.”

Jungkook gulps, but then he feels someone nudge his foot under the table and he looks up to see V looking his way, a reassuring smile on his face. (Jungkook is still thinking of a way to thank J-Hope for ensuring that V took the seat opposite him at the table today.) And really, it should be okay. He showed Jungkook how to put all the couple photos they took together into a password-protected folder – but if his passwords are that easy to guess, Jungkook thinks he has good reason to be worried.

“What’s in the protected folder?” Rosé asks him curiously. “I swear you didn’t have that last time I broke into your phone.”

Jungkook gapes. “What the fuck.”

Rosé rolls her eyes. “Relax. It’s not you’re hiding any massive secrets from us; the worst we’ve found is some ridiculous selfies. For someone so shy, you’re a complete poser, you know that?”

Jungkook feels his face turning red at Rosé’s comment. Which is probably a good thing, because his embarrassment masks the guilt he feels at actually hiding a secret so big. He hasn’t thought about it too much before, but now he can’t avoid the question running through his head – will they be upset when they find out? Or angry, even? It’s quite a big piece of information not to tell his best friends.

“Guys, leave him alone,” Jimin says tiredly as he puts an arm consolingly round Jungkook’s shoulders, but the others ignore him.

“Anyway, what’s in the folder?” Hani cuts in. “I’m curious now.” She then wiggles her eyebrows. “Is it pictures of V or something?”

Jungkook gulps, and for a second all he can think is _how do they know?_ But then it registers that LE is hitting her on the shoulder for being rude and teasing Jungkook and – right. It’s a joke. Okay.

“Actually, what _is_ in that folder?” LE adds, looking at him with a frown. “You’re being kind of weird about it.”

“It’s – it’s porn,” he chokes out.

Hani’s eyebrows raise in surprise, before she hands his phone back at lightning speed. “Jesus, Kook. Didn’t think you were the type.”

“Yeah, well,” he mutters, pocketing his phone again. There goes another piece of his dignity.

“Seriously, for a second you had me thinking it was _actually_ pictures of V,” Rosé laughs. “I know you have a little obsession with him but God, that would be a whole new level of creepy.”

“Think about it though,” Hani says contemplatively as she looks between Jungkook and V, “if V wasn’t straight, they would make a pretty cute couple.”

Jungkook blushes, looking down at the table as he tries to bite back his shy smile. Maybe it’s silly, but Hani’s statement gives him a sense of validation.

Jimin looks at Jungkook nervously, probably imagining that Hani’s comment has made him start to picture what life would be like if they were actually dating, so he takes that moment to speak up. “But V _is_ straight. So let’s maybe change the topic?” He doesn’t want to fill Jungkook with false hope.

“But V, if you _were_ gay,” Jin says curiously, “out of all of us who would you date?”

Jungkook straightens up in his seat, looking at V worriedly. (J-Hope only notices Jungkook’s reaction because he’s looking out for it.)

V’s eyes widen slightly before he gets a hold of himself. _If_. They don’t know anything.  _Calm down; it’s just a hypothetical question._

“I wouldn’t date any of you,” he scoffs. “You’re my friends; it’d be weird.”

“Come on; there must be  _someone_  here whose heart you’d like to break,” Hani insists with a goofy grin.

“Nah, not this time,” V replies. It’s an automatic response, the words not supposed to mean anything, but Rosé still stiffens and turns her head away before V realises what it sounds like. V grimaces at his own words and tries to put it out of his mind.

“Just pick someone; it’s really not that hard,” Rosé scowls, trying to displace the attention she feels on her at V’s admission.

V gulps. They’re all looking at him and he doesn’t know what to say. If he picks someone random, will they be able to call his bluff? He has to be tactful about this or someone might figure out that he actually  _is_  gay – he wouldn’t be able to cope with all their _questions_ –

“Please, if V were actually gay, he would definitely date me,” J-Hope announces, noticing V’s discomfort and heroically coming to the rescue.

“But  _you’re_  not gay,” Jisoo protests.

“I would make an exception for V,” J-Hope insists dignifiedly.

“Why? Do you  _want_  a broken heart in three weeks?” LE chuckles.

“He would never do that to me,” J-Hope grins.

“You’re right,” V smiles cheekily. “I don’t think I could put up with you for that long.”

“Fuck off,” J-Hope laughs.

“Well, if  _I_  were gay,” Jisoo begins, and the others all groan.

“You  _are_  gay,” they chorus.

“ _If_  I were gay,” she repeats insistently, “then I would date Rosé.”

Rosé scowls as the others try to stifle their laughter. “Stop hitting on me. I’m your  _friend_.”

Jisoo pouts. “Why is it okay when everyone else does it?”

“Because for  _them_  it’s a hypothetical question,” Rosé retorts.

“I’m so done with you,” Jisoo sighs tiredly.

“Great, are we breaking up?” Rosé says happily.

Jisoo rolls her eyes. “Screw you. I’m changing my answer to Hani.”

Hani beams as Rosé looks at her indignantly. “But _I’m_  your best friend!”

Jisoo grins victoriously. “And we shall be in love forevermore,” she announces dramatically. “What about you, Jungkook?” she asks excitedly.

“Well if I were straight, I would definitely date you,” Jungkook says kindly.

“Thanks, babe!” Jisoo grins, standing up and rushing around the table to give Jungkook a back hug. He smiles but pushes her away gently and Jisoo’s thankfully considerate enough to let him go and head back to her own seat. It’s easy to forget that Jungkook isn’t a big fan of physical affection.

“Why wouldn’t you date me?” Rosé asks him with a frown once Jisoo has sat back down.

Jungkook falters. “Well, you – you kind of scare me?”

Jimin giggles. “Don’t worry,  _I’ll_  date you, Ro,” he says kindly.

Suga and J-Hope both glare at him.

“Okay,” Jisoo chuckles nervously. “I think that’s enough of that game.”

“But seriously,” Rosé says, looking at Jisoo with something akin to desperation. “You still don’t feel _any_ attraction? To _any_ girls? Or perhaps one in particular?” she coaxes her gently.

Jisoo stares at her. “Ro. I _told_ you, the game is hypothetical. I don’t _actually_ want to date you.”

Rosé sighs laboriously. “Never mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sidenote: would anyone be interested in a lisoo fanfic? like, as a main pairing
> 
> I’m just brainstorming ideas right now, but I’ve been thinking about writing one. imo there just isn’t enough femslash on ao3 (or in general!!), especially within kpop, so yeahhh tell me if you would read something like that!
> 
> (it would probably still have side taekook bc let’s be real I’m taekook trash)


	31. how low can you go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook runs into an old friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I,,, think I wrote smut,,,, without writing the smut part??? is that even possible idk
> 
> basically there’s nothing explicit but it’s also very clear what they’re doing lmao so yeah. also if /sexy times/ make you feel uncomfortable then you can stop reading once things move to Taehyung’s bedroom – everything before that is safe to read :) you might still want to read the final paragraph in this chapter, because I’m thinking I might continue the next chapter from where this chapter ends ^^ all the rest of the scene isn’t important, don’t worry!
> 
> also there’s an oc in this, I just called him Jinsoo because according to google that’s a common Korean boy’s name and I didn’t want to name this character after an idol lol (I actually called him Alex at first but it looked really out of place in amongst all the Korean names so yeah no)
> 
> enjoyyy!

 

It’s Friday when Taehyung comes round Jungkook’s house again. “You know, I never had this much appreciation for the school holidays before I had a boyfriend,” Taehyung says casually when Jungkook lets him inside. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to stop me from visiting you _every_ day, seriously.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes fondly as he closes the front door. “As much as I’d like to see you every day, I do _actually_ want to pass my exams. Besides, I saw you yesterday.”

Taehyung sighs. “That doesn’t count; everyone else was there too. Although at least now I know Hani thinks we make a good couple,” he smirks. “Anyway. I guess we’ll just have to make the most of our time today.”

“Why today in particular?” Jungkook frowns as he slowly backs Taehyung up against the kitchen wall. “Hmm, you smell good,” he continues, dipping his head to press light kisses against Taehyung’s collarbone.

Taehyung feels his breath get caught in his throat. “Um, well – because, you know,” he says coherently, struggling to think about anything other than the feeling of Jungkook’s lips on his skin. “Tomorrow it’s the weekend –” Jungkook is now kissing his neck, and Taehyung lets his head roll back against the wall. “It’ll be at least Monday before I can see you again,” he finishes, his voice weak.

“Who says we can’t meet up at the weekend?” Jungkook mumbles, pulling away to look Taehyung in the eyes.

“Don’t stop,” Taehyung whines. “That felt good.”

“You’re so needy,” Jungkook chuckles, resting his hands on Taehyung’s hips.

“Says _you_ ,” Taehyung argues. “What has you so affectionate today?” Not that he’s complaining, but seriously. Talk about catching someone off guard.

Jungkook gulps, averting his eyes. “Well… it was pizza night on Tuesday, remember? I know we don’t have dance practice during the holidays, but we decided to meet up anyway. So we watched another James Bond film,” he explains awkwardly. “There may have been this steamy make-out scene that had me thinking about you for the rest of the evening.” He looks back up, making eye contact with Taehyung. “I’ve been thinking about it every day since. And then yesterday, you just had to go and look like _that_ , didn’t you?”

“Look like what?” Taehyung asks with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t dress any differently than usual.” Okay, so maybe he styled his hair a bit more carefully and maybe he wore the tightest jeans in his wardrobe, but that wasn’t to impress his boyfriend. That was _fashion._

“Don’t lie,” Jungkook mumbles. “You did it _deliberately_ , didn’t you? To make me want you more.”

Taehyung whimpers when Jungkook bites his earlobe. “I – I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say,” he says slowly. “Of course I tried to look good. Why wouldn’t I want to look good for you?”

Jungkook hums contemplatively, right in Taehyung’s ear, and Taehyung struggles to breathe. “You always look good. This was on another level.”

Taehyung reaches a hand up to Jungkook’s hair and tugs gently, coaxing Jungkook to look at him. “Stop fucking around and kiss me,” he mumbles, and then Jungkook’s lips are on his, warm and insistent and intoxicating.

It doesn’t take long for things to heat up, but then Jungkook is pulling away far too soon. “I – um,” he says embarrassedly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” he trails off, looking uncertain. He puts some space between them, looking like he wants to escape, and Taehyung shakes his head.

“Why are you apologising? That was _hot_.” He raises an eyebrow, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. “I would’ve told you to stop if I wasn’t enjoying it. You know, maybe you should greet me like that more often.”

Jungkook laughs. “Noted. But, um, that’s not why I was apologising. I’m… actually kind of annoyed for not remembering, but today’s Friday – and sometimes on Fridays my mum tries to get home earlier, to make everyone dinner and greet the weekend properly or whatever. She’s planning on getting home early today, which means we don’t have so much time to _ourselves_ , and – I don’t want to tease you if it’s not going to go any further,” he explains, his voice quiet and subdued.

“Kookie,” Taehyung says softly, “you know that you can kiss me whenever you want. It doesn’t have to lead to anything more.”

“But I want it to,” Jungkook groans. “We’ve been waiting so long for an opportunity, and now it’s the holidays and we actually have _time_ and an empty house and I just –” He gulps. “I wish I hadn’t told you not to come over until the afternoon.”

“You had to revise,” Taehyung reminds him with a small smile.

“Yeah, but if I’d known mum was going to try and come home early, I would’ve just forgotten about revision for the day and seen you this morning instead,” Jungkook complains. “But now we’ll have to wait, _again_ , because I don’t know when she’s planning on getting back and I don’t really want her to walk in on anything, so –”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung interrupts him gently. “You’re rambling.”

Jungkook grimaces. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Taehyung smiles, grabbing Jungkook’s hands and swinging them back and forth. “Does this mean I’ll have to leave early?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “I’m sure mum will invite you to stay for dinner.”

“Yeah, well I’m not sure that would be the best idea.” Taehyung averts his gaze. “I don’t get the feeling your dad likes me.”

Jungkook shrugs, unconcerned. “That doesn’t matter. _I_ like you, and I’d like you to stay.”

Taehyung smiles. “I guess I’m staying then.” He bites his lip. “Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve recently come to a realisation: it’s the holidays. So we’re free on weekdays, when my parents will be out.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed. “I can’t believe it’s taken you an entire week to realise that this also applies to you.”

“I hadn’t really thought it through,” Taehyung admits, a little embarrassed. “I’m always coming to your house, but you could actually come to mine now. We could have a full day together; no one even has to know.”

Jungkook bites back a shy smile, squeezing Taehyung’s hands gently. “I’d like that a lot.”

“So, what do you say?” Taehyung grins. “Monday?”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “Any reason why you’ve chosen that day in particular?”

They both know that this coming Monday is the 14th.

Taehyung winks at him. “You know why. Firstly, because it’s the soonest date available; secondly because a special day deserves a special celebration. If we’re hanging out around my area, we can go out together during the day without hiding – maybe even go for a walk or something, if we feel like it. And then we can go back to mine and… you know, hang out. Whatever you want.”

Taehyung wants to make sure Jungkook knows that they don’t have to do anything sexual. But he also wants Jungkook to know that the option’s there, should he choose to take it. They’ve been waiting for this opportunity for so long.

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, that sounds good,” he says, his eyes focused on Taehyung’s lips.

Taehyung gulps. “So, what did you want to do today?”

Jungkook blinks, breaking out of his daze. “Um.” He links his and Taehyung’s fingers together shyly, before leading Taehyung through to the living room. “How about we cuddle and watch trashy TV?”

Taehyung laughs. “Sounds perfect.”

 

***

 

“No way in hell,” V says without preamble. “I’m seeing Jungkook on Monday.”

“Come on,” Hoseok protests. “You see Jungkook _every_ day. When are you going to make time for your best friend?”

“I’m making time for you today,” V says, one eyebrow cocked.

Hoseok sighs. “We’re never going to finish this fucking truck if you don’t ever come round to work on it. You know the others are sick of you spending all your free time with your girlfriend?”

V sighs. “I never get time with him like this, Hoseok. A whole week of the holidays has already passed, and it’s going so quickly. I just want to make the most of it.”

“I know,” Hoseok acknowledges reluctantly. “Is Monday really that important though?”

“ _Yes_ ,” V insists. “I won’t have seen him all weekend – don’t give me that _look_ , it’s a long time – and he’s coming to my house for the first time in _months._ Plus, my parents will be out, and…” He looks at Hoseok apprehensively. “I’m hoping things might _happen._ ”

Hoseok raises an eyebrow. “So what? It’s not like that’s uncommon.” His eyes widen when V remains silent. “Wait, _seriously_? You guys still haven’t fucked? From the way you two acted round mine, I figured you’d done everything already. You seemed so comfortable around each other.”

“We _are_ comfortable,” V argues. “That doesn’t mean we’ve fucked. Or – or done anything at all.”

Hoseok chokes on his own spit. “You’re kidding?”

“No?” V says, disgruntled. “We’ve just kissed. That time round yours was the closest we’ve got.”

Hoseok whistles lowly. “Well shit. I take it back, mate. You go get your man.” ~~~~

V snorts. “Um, thanks? I’ve kind of already got him, but I appreciate the support.”

Hoseok rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a dick. You’ll still come over on Tuesday though, right?”

V grins. “If I have to.”

 

***

 

“Hey,” Taehyung smiles softly when he answers the door to see Jungkook waiting for him. “Thanks for coming over. I know it’s a long journey.”

Jungkook shrugs. “It’s fine. It means I get to see you, right?” Taehyung’s wearing the button-down he bought when they went shopping together, and Jungkook bites back a smile. He loves that shirt on him.

Taehyung smiles harder. “Well, that’s the idea. Come on in.”

Taehyung would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous – but he’s prepared. Prepared for _all_ eventualities. (Including the one where nothing happens at all. But from the way Jungkook was acting on Friday, he doubts that will be the case.)

“Where’s Soonshimmie?” Jungkook asks, looking around the room like she’ll bound in any second.

“She’s sleeping,” he explains as he closes the front door. “But don’t worry, she’s doing fine; I just wore her out on her walk this morning. She’ll probably want to play with you later.”

Jungkook laughs. “Good. It’ll be nice to see her with a bit more energy.”

“What’s in the bag?” Taehyung asks curiously when he notices Jungkook putting down a backpack next to the sofa.

“Oh, I got you a present,” Jungkook says shyly. “We only had Christmas wrapping paper, so –”

Taehyung laughs when Jungkook takes out a square gift covered in snowmen. “I love it, Kookie. Thank you.”

Jungkook frowns at him. “You don’t even know what it is yet.” He hands over the gift, looking oddly nervous. “Sorry if it’s stupid. I didn’t really know what to get you, but I tried.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Taehyung says fondly, turning the present over in his hands. It feels heavy.

“I did!” Jungkook protests. “I told you last month that I would, remember?” He holds his breath when Taehyung tears open the wrapping paper.

“Oh,” Taehyung says in surprise when he takes a look at what’s inside. There’s three books inside – the top one simply says ‘Audition’ in big letters, and Taehyung assumes that the other two books have similar themes.

“I don’t know if they’ll be helpful at all,” Jungkook says anxiously, “but you said you want to get into acting, so I looked up what books every actor should have, and these seemed to have the best reviews. There’s one about succeeding in auditions, one about how to get into character, and another one that’s more of a general how-to for the industry.”

Taehyung is speechless. He turns the books over in his hands, feeling indescribably touched.

“I know you’re not a big reader,” Jungkook continues, looking progressively more worried the more time passes without Taehyung responding. “If you hate them you can just give them back, I won’t be offended. I brought the receipt with me just in case –”

“I don’t want to return them,” Taehyung interrupts him. “Kookie, this is a great gift. I wouldn’t have even _thought_ of something like this; it’s such a good idea.” He can feel himself grinning. “You really did all that research, just to get me a couple of acting books?”

Jungkook blushes. “They’re not just a couple of acting books. They’re the best books in the industry, and they’ll help you succeed,” he says confidently.

“You’re the best,” Taehyung grins, putting the books down on the sofa so that he can pull Jungkook closer towards him. “Thank you so much,” he mumbles in his ear, before kissing his temple.

“You’re welcome,” Jungkook smiles bashfully. “You really like them? You’re not just saying that?”

“I’m going to start reading them as soon as you’re gone,” Taehyung winks.

Jungkook laughs. “I won’t let you kick me out early just so you can get started sooner,” he warns him. “Anyway, what did you want to do now? I remember you saying something about going for a walk and I think that might be cool, because it’s a really nice morning. I kind of just wanted to stay outside when I got off the bus.”

Taehyung nods. “Let’s go for it. Maybe we could even stop for lunch somewhere before heading back to mine?”

Jungkook grins. “Yeah, sure.”

 

***

 

They end up wandering down a woodland trail that leads to the local park, and Taehyung realises that Jungkook was right – the weather really is great today. It’s finally starting to feel like spring.

“This is nice,” Jungkook says happily as he swings Taehyung’s hand back and forth between them. They’ve been holding hands for most of the trail, because very few people seem interested in going for a walk on a Monday morning. A couple of times they’ve passed other people, and wordlessly stepped apart to put a comfortable amount of distance between them, but they always join back together once the strangers are out of sight. They’re alone at the moment, surrounded only by nature, and Jungkook likes it like this; with no one to hide from, and no reason to feel anxious or on edge. Taehyung seems relaxed, too. He seems happy. Jungkook loves the thought that it’s because of him.

Eventually they reach the park, and they decide to have a little stroll around there before they head back to find somewhere to eat. They aren’t holding hands anymore, but Jungkook is having too much fun watching the squirrels run about and the children play in the distance to be upset about it.

They’re on their way out of the park, back towards the woodland trail when Jungkook hears a familiar voice calling out his name.

“Hey, Jungkook! Long time no see.”

Jungkook looks up in shock, only to see a familiar face from last year that he wished he would never see again. He isn’t even thinking when he spits out, “What are you doing here?” angrily, his boyfriend tensing at his side. It usually takes a lot more than a few simple words to make Jungkook angry, but apparently this person is an exception to that rule.

The boy raises his eyebrows, walking closer to Jungkook. “I’m back for the holidays – my grandparents live around here too, remember? That was one of the reasons we started talking and became friends in the first place.” The boy tuts at him playfully, a mischievous smile playing at his lips. “I can’t believe you would forget.”

Jungkook can’t believe he would forget, either. Such an important piece of information that he probably repressed from his memory, just so that he could walk the streets of his hometown without remembering the pain this person caused him.

“Who are you?” V asks curiously from beside Jungkook.

“One of Jungkook’s friends from his old school,” the boy answers.

V is immediately suspicious. He distinctly remembers Jungkook saying that he didn’t keep in contact with anyone from his old school, although he tends to avoid any specifics about why.

“The name’s Jinsoo,” the boy continues. V raises his eyebrows at the self-introduction; he’s coming across as even more of a dick than V does when he’s _trying_. “And you are?” Jinsoo asks.

“One of Jungkook’s friends from his new school,” V answers casually. “I go by V.”

“V?” Jinsoo sniggers. “Who gave you that name?”

“I did,” V responds coldly. “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all,” Jinsoo replies, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

Jungkook looks at his boyfriend warily. “Come on, let’s go,” he mutters quietly. He tugs the sleeve of V’s jacket and V reluctantly turns around, glaring at Jinsoo before they start to walk away.

“You know he’s gay?” Jinsoo calls after them and V freezes.

He turns back around to face Jinsoo with a raised eyebrow, challenging him to say something that will justify V punching him square in the face. “And…?” he coaxes.

Jinsoo holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Relax, mate. I was just warning you.”

V’s eyes narrow. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

Jinsoo shrugs, seemingly unbothered by V’s tone. “Just to be prepared if he tries to make a move on you or something. It wouldn’t be the first time – it happened to me, too.”

Jungkook spins around to glare at Jinsoo, a thunderous look on his face. “That’s a lie!” he shouts.

V turns to Jungkook, completely shocked. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen his boyfriend get so angry, not even when they’ve had fights. He’s getting a really bad feeling about this. “Jungkook, who is this?” he says urgently, looking in Jungkook’s eyes as if maybe they’ll give him some sort of answer.

Jungkook averts his gaze, staring instead at the trees in the distance. “He was a friend from my old school,” he responds quietly.

“Until…?” V persists.

Jungkook looks back up at V, his soft brown eyes vulnerable and sad. “Until he told everybody I was gay and started a rumour that I tried to hit on him in the school changing rooms.”

V’s eyes widen and he takes a step back, his fists clenched and his jaw set. “How fucking _dare_ you –” he growls at Jinsoo, taking a couple of purposeful strides towards him, but Jungkook rushes forward and puts a hand on V’s chest to hold him back.

“Don’t,” Jungkook warns. “He’s not worth it.” Jungkook drops his hand from V’s chest, slowly because he’s concerned about V’s levels of self-control, but V doesn’t move forward again. Jungkook gulps. “I want to settle this myself.”

“Okay,” V says softly, letting Jungkook move forward to stand in front of Jinsoo.

Jinsoo may still be looking at them arrogantly, but the cocky grin has disappeared.

“Why did you do it?” Jungkook asks, looking at Jinsoo in a mix of confusion and frustration. This has been plaguing his mind for far too long. “Why did you _tell_ everyone? When someone tells you a secret, it’s expected that you keep it to yourself. I… I _trusted_ you.”

Jinsoo shrugs. “I thought people had a right to know.” He looks at Jungkook curiously. “Anyway, what’s the big deal? If I’d announced to you that I was straight, you wouldn’t have felt the need to keep it a secret.”

Jungkook looks at him in disbelief. “That’s _different._ You can’t possibly believe…” He shakes his head. “And what do you mean ‘people had a right to know’? It’s _private_. It had nothing to do with any of them. And – and the _rumour_ –”

Jinsoo raises his eyebrows. “I was just protecting them,” he says defensively. “Sure, you may not have hit on _me_ in the changing rooms, but it could’ve been any one of them. It’s _everybody’s_ business.  You don’t think they needed to know that one of the people in that room _with_ them was watching them get changed?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jungkook states incredulously.

“Is it?” Jinsoo says sceptically.

“ _Yes._ ” Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I never… _watched_ anyone. I’m not a creep _._ I spent my whole time at school looking at the ground and trying to keep out of everybody’s way – you _know_ that.”

“Jesus, why are you getting so defensive?” Jinsoo scoffs. “I did you a favour. You told me; I told my friends; they told everybody else – then everyone knew. You didn’t have to go through telling them all separately.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows shoot up, shocked that Jinsoo could actually think that spreading this information was a _nice_ thing to do. “But I didn’t _want_ everyone to know! You never asked if –” He sighs laboriously. “You know what? This is pointless. I’m never going to understand what you did, and I don’t need to. In fact, I’m _glad_ that you ruined my life. Because if you didn’t, I never would have moved here and found some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.” He turns to his boyfriend. “Let’s go. We’re done here.”

V bites his lip to stop himself from yelling at Jinsoo. He understands that Jungkook doesn’t want to start a fight – that he doesn’t even like confrontation – so instead, Taehyung simply follows Jungkook away from the scene.

When they’re far enough away that Jinsoo can no longer see them; back on the trail and out of sight of prying eyes, Taehyung touches Jungkook’s hand tentatively. Jungkook immediately interlaces their fingers.

“So,” Taehyung starts, looking at Jungkook worriedly. “That’s what happened at your old school? Your friend outed you?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook sighs. “Sorry I’ve never talked about it. It’s kind of painful to relive.”

“Don’t apologise,” Taehyung murmurs, stroking his thumb over the back of Jungkook’s hand consolingly. “It’s that dickhead who should be apologising. How were you ever friends with someone like that?”

Jungkook smiles noncommittally. “You saw what he’s like; so laidback about everything. When I told him I was gay, I thought he’d be laidback about that too.” He looks at Taehyung and chuckles. “Wow, was I wrong.”

“Why are you laughing?” Taehyung frowns. “It’s not exactly funny.”

“No, but it’s just so ridiculous,” Jungkook responds, unable to stop the sudden onslaught of giggles. “You know me. You really think I could ever proposition anyone? In the _changing rooms_ of all places?! I’m surprised anyone believed him, actually.”

“So… the people who made fun of you,” Taehyung continues. He needs to know.

Jungkook shrugs, his smile dying down. “It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if Jinsoo hadn’t spread that stupid lie alongside the ‘gay’ thing. People thought it was _hilarious_ that I tried to flirt with my straight best friend. And all the boys were weird around me in the changing rooms after that…” He gulps. “I started getting changed in the toilet cubicle just so they’d stop staring at me. It was like they thought I was about to pounce on them or something.” Jungkook sighs tiredly. “People are stupid. Jinsoo and I weren’t even that close, anyway, but he was still the person I was closest to at school and, rightly or wrongly, I trusted him.” He looks at Taehyung; trying to bring himself out of those memories and back into the present moment. He much prefers where he is now. “I guess now I know that it was wrongly,” he says softly.

Taehyung smiles. “As you said, all that shit led you to me. So it can’t have been too bad, right?”

Jungkook grins. “Exactly.” He squeezes Taehyung’s hand, stopping them from walking any further. He wordlessly rests his head against Taehyung’s shoulder, craving attention and comfort.

Taehyung pulls Jungkook into a warm embrace, wrapping his arms around Jungkook’s shoulders. Jungkook laughs when Taehyung squeezes him too tight, the sound muffled by Taehyung’s neck, before he winds his arms around Taehyung’s waist and holds on just as tight.

“You okay?” Taehyung asks softly.

“Yeah, I am,” Jungkook says, surprising himself by how much he means it. “A lot of shit has happened, but look at us now. We’re here, together… and you’re _mine_. Whatever had to happen to bring us together, it was worth it.”

 

***

 

After the run-in with Jinsoo, Taehyung expects things to become awkward, but it seems like Jungkook feels more relaxed around him than he ever has done before. They eat lunch in a cute café, gazing at each other across the table like idiots, because the café is empty except for the staff and there’s nobody to hide from.

And once they get back to Taehyung’s house, Jungkook seems happier than he has all day. That happiness only intensifies when Soonshim appears, barking happily and insisting that Jungkook and Taehyung play with her.

“What do you want to do now?” Taehyung asks Jungkook, an hour or so later once Soonshim has exhausted herself and gone back to sleep.

“I’m kind of curious about those acting books,” Jungkook answers after a second’s thought. “They looked pretty interesting, but I couldn’t exactly read them when they were meant to be a present for you.”

Taehyung smirks. “You want to learn how to perfect your audition technique?”

“No,” Jungkook grumbles. “I’m just _curious._ This is something you’re interested in, so I should know more about it, right?”

Taehyung bites back a smile. “I guess. I know you don’t care about acting though.”

“So? I care about _you_ ,” he answers petulantly, not noticing how the words make Taehyung’s heart beat faster. “Let’s go put the books away in your room, at least. I want to see where you’ll be keeping them.”

“Okay,” Taehyung smiles. At this point, he feels like Jungkook could suggest anything and he would agree.

Once they’re in Taehyung’s room, Jungkook makes himself comfortable on Taehyung’s bed, flicking open the book on auditioning, and Taehyung tries not to stare. “Well, it looks like one of the top tips is confidence,” Jungkook announces as he skim-reads. “You’ve got no problem there, you’re _over_ -confident if anything,” he teases.

“Shut up,” Taehyung laughs as he puts the other two books on his bedside table. “What else does it say?”

“Hang on, I’m just skipping over all the tips on how to appear more confident than you really are,” Jungkook mumbles, flicking through the pages. “Aha! You have to… go underneath the dialogue,” he says hesitantly. He looks up at Taehyung, evidently confused. “What does that mean?”

Taehyung grins. “Probably that you have to connect to the words, not just read them. Come up with a backstory for the character, or something.” He perches on the end of the bed. “Makes sense.”

“Is this actually helpful?” Jungkook says sceptically. “Or is this all stuff you know already?”

Taehyung smiles. “You’re on, what? Page 7? I’m sure there’s loads of stuff I don’t know that you’ve already skipped over.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I’m trying to help.”

“I know,” Taehyung chuckles. “But I already told you, I can read over it later. Right now I’ve got things I’d much rather do.”

Jungkook closes the book, looking at Taehyung apprehensively. “Like what?”

“Spending time with _you_ , to start with,” Taehyung says pointedly. “And – well.” He falters, not wanting to sway Jungkook in any way. He doesn’t want to be _that_ guy; the one that pushes his partner into doing something they’re not ready for. “I don’t know. Whatever you want to do,” he finishes lamely.

Jungkook stares at him for a second. “Come here,” he says softly.

Taehyung obliges, crawling onto the bed to lie beside Jungkook. Jungkook takes his hand, twining their fingers together and brushing his thumb over Taehyung’s knuckles. He looks at his boyfriend, feeling completely content. He never realised it was possible to be so happy.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Taehyung mumbles, hiding a smile of his own.  He sounds uncharacteristically shy.

Jungkook smirks. “I thought you liked attention.”

“I _do,_ but –” He’s cut off mid-sentence by Jungkook’s lips – which, if he’s being honest, is probably the best way to be interrupted, ever. It makes Taehyung think he wouldn’t mind being interrupted all the time.

He hums contently, pressing closer and putting his hand on Jungkook’s waist. Jungkook pushes him gently onto his back and climbs on top of him, kissing him harder. He doesn’t think much of it until Jungkook starts to undo the buttons on his shirt.

“What are you…?” he asks stupidly as Jungkook stops kissing him to focus on his shirt a little better.

“I’ve been wanting to do this ever since you tried this shirt on,” Jungkook mumbles, popping open a couple more buttons until Taehyung’s chest is visible. “You’re so beautiful,” he mumbles against Taehyung’s neck, before pressing more kisses against Taehyung’s collarbone.

“You’ve seen me shirtless before,” Taehyung points out, not really sure how to respond to the compliment. These sorts of comments shouldn’t make Taehyung feel so flustered – but this is Jungkook they’re talking about, and the rules have never applied with him.

“This is different,” Jungkook says, kissing down Taehyung’s chest, and fuck, Taehyung can’t breathe. This is going to kill him. “Are you okay?” Jungkook says after a second, sitting up on Taehyung’s stomach so that he can see his face better.

Taehyung tries not to think about how Jungkook’s butt is basically pressing into his crotch.

“You look kind of pale and… are you even breathing?” Jungkook continues obliviously. He pokes his boyfriend in the face. “Tae?”

Taehyung blushes, his face regaining colour by the second. “I tried to prepare myself for this,” he explains vaguely, “in case we… you know. But I obviously _wasn’t_ prepared. I don’t know how you’re so good at turning me on, considering you have no experience whatsoever in this area,” he huffs. “It’s actually pretty fucking unfair.”

Jungkook laughs. “You jealous?” he teases, leaning back down to press their lips together in a kiss that feels far too soft and sweet for the moment.

“Maybe a little bit,” Taehyung chuckles.

“If it makes you feel any better, you’re really good at this too,” Jungkook says with a soft smile. “Not that I have anyone to compare it to. But you make me feel – I don’t know. Sexy. Wanted.” He kisses Taehyung again, gentle and reassuring. “I feel safe when I’m with you. And even though I’m kind of clueless when it comes to stuff like this, I know you’ll show me what to do.”

Taehyung gulps. “About that. You know I haven’t done this before, right? With a boy, I mean.” He’s fiddling with Jungkook’s t-shirt, now, his eyes focused on the soft fabric so that he doesn’t have to look Jungkook in the eyes. “I’ve never, you know. Touched anyone’s dick except my own – and I’m kind of shitting myself worrying that I’ll be really bad at it.”

Jungkook smirks. “You nervous, baby?”

Taehyung blushes again, feeling very suddenly that the tables have turned. Jungkook isn’t supposed to be the one teasing _him._ “Of course I’m nervous. Aren’t you?”

Jungkook kisses his earlobe. “Stop overthinking. You’re forgetting that I’ve never done this with _anyone._ You could sit there and poke my dick with a spork and it would still be the best sexual favour I’ve ever received.”

Taehyung snorts, relaxing into the pillows. “Your mind is really fucking weird.”

Jungkook grins. “I know why you’re nervous, Tae. I am too. But we shouldn’t have to be. It’s _us._ If it ends up being shit, we’ll just try again next time.” His hands slide down Taehyung’s sides until they come to rest on his waist. “I know it won’t be, though.”

“How are you so confident?” Taehyung asks, tugging at Jungkook’s t-shirt and hoping he’ll get the message.

Jungkook smirks as he pulls off his t-shirt. “Because I read through those acting tips on how to fake it,” he announces. And Taehyung laughs – and that’s when they know that there’s really no need to be nervous about this. It’s what they both want; it’s what they’ve both been waiting for.

So, when it comes down to it and Jungkook has Taehyung falling apart in his hands, Taehyung gives in to the feeling. Jungkook makes sure to give him all his attention before Taehyung is allowed to reciprocate, because Jungkook doesn’t want to be in too much of a haze to appreciate the beauty lying before him – and when he voices that thought, Taehyung scoffs and tells him to stop being a sentimental twat, but they’re both smiling.

Also, Jungkook is a fucking _liar_ because, experience or no experience, he’s pretty damn good at making Taehyung fall apart. “You good?” Jungkook giggles when Taehyung comes down from his high and back to reality.

“I’m fucking _amazing_ ,” Taehyung responds with a wide grin. And before Jungkook knows it, they’ve switched positions, with Taehyung asking him, “What do you want, Kookie?”

“Your hands,” Jungkook mumbles quietly, gasping when he feels Taehyung touch him for the first time. His brain times out after only a few strokes, and all he can think about is Taehyung’s _hands_ and Taehyung’s lips on his neck and _Taehyung Taehyung Taehyung._ It’s better than he could have ever imagined, and his only regret is that it’s over far too soon.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Taehyung says with a soft smile when Jungkook hides his face in the pillow. “It was your first time. I’m actually really impressed you lasted that long.”

“Shut up, you’re making it worse,” Jungkook laughs weakly, his face tinged pink from embarrassment.

Taehyung chuckles. “I’m going to find something to get ourselves cleaned up with, okay? When I come back you’d better be willing to show me your face,” he teases.

Taehyung walks back into the room a few minutes later to see Jungkook sat up in his bed, the covers bunched around his waist. His lips are swollen and his skin is flushed a pretty pink colour that’s so stunning Taehyung finds himself staring. “You look amazing,” he states, using a damp cloth to clean up Jungkook’s stomach.

Jungkook scowls. “I look like a mess.”

“A hot mess,” Taehyung corrects him with a wink. He sits down, wiping his own stomach, and then throws the cloth onto the floor to deal with later. “Well, there’s no doubting it now,” he announces suddenly. “I’m _really_ fucking gay.”

Jungkook laughs. “If it’s any consolation, me too.”

“Seriously, that was incredible,” Taehyung insists, shifting closer to Jungkook and smothering his skin with kisses. “I can’t believe it’s taken us so long to do this.” He then freezes, looking up at Jungkook worriedly. “Wait, that’s not what I meant. I would never try and make this happen if you didn’t want it to –”

“I know, Tae,” Jungkook interrupts him with a quiet laugh, cupping his jaw and pressing their lips together. “Thank you for never pushing me.” He settles back into the sheets, pulling up a corner of the duvet so his boyfriend can climb inside. “You know, we still have almost two weeks left of the holidays. I’d say there’s plenty of time to do this again.”

Taehyung grins as he moves closer to Jungkook, his hands on Jungkook’s waist with their chests pressed together. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook laughs, kissing the shell of Taehyung’s ear. “What’s your schedule like tomorrow?”

Taehyung’s eyes widen excitedly, but then he deflates. “Fuck.  I’m going to J-Hope’s tomorrow – he made me promise. The others are annoyed at me for being so flaky lately and always ditching our plans… I can’t really get out of it.”

Jungkook smiles. “It’s fine. We can meet up another day.”

“Wednesday?” Taehyung asks hopefully.

“Wednesday works for me,” Jungkook mumbles, kissing him again.

“Good,” Taehyung says, feeling unbelievably content. “You know, I feel really comfy like this,” he continues. “I think I could fall asleep.”

Jungkook giggles. “That sounds like a really bad plan. Your parents would get the shock of their lives when they came home from work to find you asleep, naked, with another boy in your bed.”

Taehyung laughs. “They won’t be back for a while. I can set an alarm to wake us up, like, an hour before they’re scheduled to get back home. An hour and a half if we want to be really safe.”

Jungkook closes his eyes. “You sure? Because if you’re not careful, I _will_ actually fall asleep.”

“Completely sure,” Taehyung says, already reaching round Jungkook to pick up his phone from the bedside table.

“Hey, Tae?” Jungkook yawns, shifting to rest his head on Taehyung’s shoulder. “Thank you for today.”

Taehyung finishes setting the alarm before he responds, not wanting to get distracted, but when he turns his attention back to his boyfriend he finds that Jungkook is already asleep. He chuckles to himself, putting his phone down and settling into Jungkook’s arms, kissing him gently on the forehead. And after a second’s thought, he unlocks his phone again, taking a cute picture of himself posing with a peace sign while Jungkook sleeps blissfully next to him. He puts it in the same photo album as his other pictures with Jungkook – then he locks his phone and cuddles up to his boyfriend, closing his eyes. Despite his words earlier, he feels like he’s far too happy to be able to fall asleep right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eek I hope you liked it
> 
> I’ve actually been going over my timeline and plot ideas and, it’s kinda scary for me lol, but the end is in sight? we’ve got a good way to go still, but we’re looking at around 44 chapters in total (including the epilogue). I haven’t updated the official number of chapters because that number is just an estimate, but it’ll be something like that ^.^
> 
> thank you for reading ^^ please leave me a comment I need your validation


	32. why don’t they understand?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung makes a mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii so I said I’d post the new chapter on Friday and it’s actually Thursday but, well, it’s ready, so enjoy :)
> 
> btw this chapter is kinda heavy? idk, not really, but a lot happens. also there isn’t any outward homophobia but there’s still kind of,,, dismissing of people’s sexualities? I’m not sure what to call it haha but here’s a disclaimer, just in case!!
> 
> plus for those who wanted it I also added some more namjin, so we’re ending with some fluff :))) hope you like it!

 

Taehyung is woken up by the loud sound of his alarm going off, which is just plain _rude_ because he’s exhausted and it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s time to get up yet. Eyes closed, he reaches towards his bedside table to snooze the alarm, but his hand hits someone else’s body and his eyes fly open in shock.

“ _Shit_ ,” Taehyung mutters to himself, feeling his heartbeat slow down to its normal pace when he realises that it’s just Jungkook. But then his heartbeat speeds up again when he remembers what led them to this situation in the first place – everything that happened today, up until an hour or so ago when they fell asleep together.

Taehyung allows himself to enjoy the moment a little more, before he gently shakes Jungkook’s shoulder. “Time to get up, sleepy head,” he mumbles in his ear, his voice teasing, before kissing the spot just underneath Jungkook’s earlobe.

“Hmm,” Jungkook says, squirming in his sleep, then turning over and practically crushing Taehyung under the weight of his body.

“Fucking hell,” Taehyung mutters, trying to push Jungkook off him. “Okay, seriously. I never thought there would be a time when I _didn’t_ appreciate your muscles, but you’re really doing a good job of changing my mind.”

Another minute or so later, when Taehyung has given up on trying to move Jungkook back onto his side of the bed and has instead decided to shuffle out from underneath him, Taehyung manages to fall out of bed and land unceremoniously on the floor. He sighs to himself, puts on some clothes and also picks up Jungkook’s clothes, smiling as he lays them out on the bed for him. Then inspiration hits him and he does a mini run up before jumping on the bed, landing right on top of Jungkook’s body.

“Oof!” Jungkook says. His eyes open slowly, glaring at Taehyung. “What are you doing?”

Taehyung giggles. “I didn’t know how to wake you up.” He kisses his cheek. “Come on, baby. Time to get your clothes back on and head back home.”

Jungkook closes his eyes again. “Don’t want to,” he mumbles.

Taehyung stifles a laugh against Jungkook’s neck. “You have to. If you don’t wake up now, you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“I won’t be able to sleep tonight anyway, without you there,” Jungkook sighs. He still opens his eyes, albeit reluctantly.

Taehyung melts a little at those words. “Well, as cute as that is, it’s also very impractical, and it doesn’t do you any good to be so dependent,” he says factually, giving Jungkook a soft peck on the lips before he crawls off him. “Your clothes are here.”

Jungkook groans as he stretches, before slowly peeling the covers off his body.

“Careful with the sound effects, babe, or you’ll have me wanting a round 2,” Taehyung warns him with a cheeky smile.

Jungkook chuckles, standing up and wrapping his arms around Taehyung’s waist. He kisses Taehyung on the lips, soft and slow and passionate; his version of a thank you – but he pulls away when Taehyung’s hands find their way to his hips.

“You know,” Jungkook says slowly, “ _talking_ of round 2…”

Taehyung laughs. “Put on your clothes, Jungkookie.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes but starts to get dressed all the same. “It’s not fair that you’re already dressed,” he complains as Taehyung watches him get changed.

“It’s your fault for being such a heavy sleeper,” Taehyung argues. “Oh – that reminds me…” He picks up his phone, fiddling with it for a second before he shows Jungkook the screen. “I took this earlier, after you fell asleep on me. You look adorable, Kookie.”

Jungkook blushes. “That’s…” He doesn’t know how to describe what he’s feeling right now. “That’s cute,” he settles on eventually, even though ‘cute’ doesn’t begin to cover it. It makes Jungkook feel special, that he’s the one who gets to fall asleep with Taehyung; that he’s the only one who gets to see Taehyung like this.

“Not as cute as you,” Taehyung argues, before passing Jungkook his t-shirt. “I’m already looking forward to Wednesday.”

“I’m just looking forward to going back to sleep,” Jungkook says, his eyes closing again of their own accord, and Taehyung laughs.

“Do I need to walk with you to the bus stop just to make sure you don’t collapse on the way there?” Taehyung teases.

“Probably,” Jungkook admits with a yawn.

Neither of them will admit it, but their walk to the bus stop together is much less to do with Jungkook’s tiredness than it is to do with how they’re not ready to say goodbye just yet.

 

***

 

Taehyung is still thinking about the feeling of Jungkook’s lips on his and Jungkook’s hands on his body when he meets up with the T-Birds on Tuesday.

“You’re spacing out again,” J-Hope murmurs to him in warning.

“Fuck,” V mutters as he comes back to reality, watching the red paint splashing onto the floor instead of the truck, which he’s supposed to be painting. It’s the paint V bought months ago, in preparation for this moment, and he grimaces when he realises that he’s wasting it. The paint was pretty expensive and they only have a limited amount to cover the whole truck.

“What has you so distracted?” Hani asks, smirking at him like she already knows the answer.

V almost rolls his eyes. If he told her the truth, it would definitely shock that knowing smirk right off her face.

“Come on, I know you’re dying to talk about her,” Hani insists, abandoning her job painting the other side of the truck to walk over to V and annoy him some more. “You’ve done pretty well not mentioning her so far, but seriously, we won’t be mad at you for talking to us about your girlfriend. It’s a wonder you haven’t already, to be honest.”

Suga nods, agreeing with her. “This must be the longest relationship you’ve had so far since Rosé. I’m pretty curious.”

V gulps. He could laugh and awkwardly change the subject, like he’s taken to doing recently; ever since he realised that it was a bit too late to explain to his friends that he and Jennie weren’t actually dating. They’d only wonder why he went along with it for so long.

But this time V doesn’t feel the need to change the subject, because it hits him that this is the perfect opportunity to open up about Jungkook without actually having to give anything away. It would be refreshing to be able to talk about his relationship with his friends… He’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t think about just telling them, sometimes. But then he always overthinks it and ruins things for himself, because what if the truth changes things? He likes the dynamic the T-Birds have together at the moment – he doesn’t want to ruin anything. And if the truth would change things, he thinks it can wait a little longer.

So he doesn’t tell them the whole truth, but he does allow himself to tell them a small part of it. “I mean – she’s pretty great,” he starts, nervous even when they look at him encouragingly. He can see LE looking his way too, even if she’s still painting, and the realisation that he can talk freely about this makes him feel more liberated than he has in a long time. “She kind of – gets me?” He frowns at his own phrasing. He doesn’t want to sound like a complete romantic – that would be too much of a change in character for any of them to believe – but he doesn’t know how else to put it. “It’s always easy to talk to her, I guess.”

If he stopped to think about his words, he would probably laugh. It was never easy for him to talk to Jennie.

“So you actually talk?” Hani asks interestedly. “That’s new.”

V bites his lip. “I know it sounds stupid, but it’s true. We don’t have to be doing anything specific for me to enjoy spending time with her, and _sometimes_ we’ll even make out without it leading to more.”

Suga stares at him, completely shocked. “Wow. You’ve changed.”

V chuckles awkwardly. If only they knew.

“So when did you last see her?” Hani asks, going to lean against the truck until she remembers that it’s still wet and she quickly moves away again. “Someone really should put a warning sign out here or something,” she mumbles.

“If you were still painting then it wouldn’t be a problem,” LE points out. They all ignore her – she’s the only one still bothering at this point.

“Is this why you weren’t here yesterday?” Hani continues to V as if LE didn’t say anything. “And, like, most of last week?”

“Yeah,” V answers, a smile appearing on his face despite himself as he allows his brain to wander back to yesterday. He can still picture it so clearly; Jungkook’s arms round his body and Jungkook’s face on his pillow. He’s so, _so_ beautiful. “We were at mine yesterday,” V tells them happily, “and we saw each other on Friday, too – it was pretty cool. We just hung out at his, watched TV and made out for a while.” He’s losing concentration on the conversation again, he’s aware, but how could he possibly focus right now? God, Jungkook is such a _good_ kisser.

“His?” Suga asks, frowning.

V breaks out of his thoughts and frowns back at Suga. “What?”

“You said you hung out at _his_ ,” Hani explains, also confused.

“Oh,” V says in realisation. Fuck, he must have got too carried away. “Well, I mean, it’s Jennie’s house, but technically she doesn’t own it; it’s really her father’s,” he stumbles, hoping it’s a convincing enough explanation. He’s trying to figure out a way to expand the lie and make it more believable when Hani laughs, shocking him out of his stupor.

“Oh my God, you completely just used the wrong pronoun,” she wheezes. “Wait till I tell Jennie that you referred to her as a _boy_ by mistake, Jesus Christ.”

V gulps. “Come on, it was an _accident_. I had a busy week.”

“Yeah, and while you’re here with us, I bet Jennie’s still at home resting in _his_ house,” Hani chortles.

“I just misspoke,” V argues, his voice getting more subdued by the second.

“Imagine if you were actually gay, though,” Hani continues, finding the prospect far too amusing for V’s liking. “God, that would be hilarious.”

V can feel his smile becoming more and more forced. “Yeah. Yeah, that would be funny.” He can feel LE staring at him.

“It’s not like it would matter either way, though,” J-Hope cuts in, trying to help, but Suga rolls his eyes.

“I mean, _obviously_ I don’t have anything against gay people,” he agrees, “but _you_?” he says with a laugh, gesturing to V. “You’re the straightest person I know, seriously. I wouldn’t know _what_ to think anymore. It would be like your whole existence was a lie.”

V smiles awkwardly. “Yeah, well. Just as well I’m not, isn’t it?”

“Guys, stop messing around,” J-Hope interrupts them, trying to hide his concern. “We’ve had enough of a break, now. We have to get a move on here if we want to get this thing finished by the end of April.”

“Yeah, stop slacking,” LE pipes up, paintbrush in hand. “I’m the only one doing anything and I swear I’m the one who cares the _least._ ”

V breathes out a sigh of relief, glad that the conversation is over, but that doesn’t stop his brain from playing it on repeat for the rest of the day.

 

***

 

“Hey – you okay?” Hoseok asks him anxiously once the others have left.

V sighs, sitting down on the floor as he lets out a breath he’s been holding for God knows how long. After that conversation, he’s been on edge all day. “Yeah. Fine.”

Hoseok stares at him. “I know you’re lying.” His voice is gentle and he sits down next to V on the floor, nudging his shoulder. “You can stay here a bit longer if you want.”

“No, that’s okay,” V says with a shake of his head. “I just want to go home.”

Hoseok looks at him carefully, but after a second he nods. “Alright. Text me if you need anything.” He still looks anxious even when V stands up and picks up his jacket. “You know they didn’t mean it,” he starts, but V shakes his head.

“Don’t. I – I know you want to help, but I can’t discuss this right now,” he explains, struggling to get his thoughts out. Right now, he just needs time to process. He can think about it rationally tomorrow, maybe, but not at the moment. It’s too fresh.

V heads to the bus stop and checks his phone for the time, noting that it will only be five minutes before the bus turns up. But as soon as he sits down in the shelter, he changes his mind.

His brain may be a mess, but he knows that he can’t go home like this or he’ll keep overthinking. He got into this state before, a few months ago, and he managed to wreck things with Jungkook. He refuses to let himself make the same mistake again.

Taehyung is already knocking on the front door when it occurs to him that Jungkook might be busy. Hell, he might even have people round – and what happens if one of _them_ answers the door? It’s Tuesday, after all; maybe Jungkook invited his dance friends round. Or, _worse,_ maybe Jungkook isn’t here at all.

He’s seriously contemplating hiding in a bush and texting Jungkook instead, when the door opens. “Tae?” Jungkook asks, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“I – shit, sorry,” he says, stumbling over his words. “I shouldn’t have just come over. I – are you busy?”

Jungkook’s confusion melts into concern. “Come in,” he says gently, opening the door wider. “Bambam’s here, we’re just watching a film.”

Taehyung nods wordlessly, walking inside before he comes to a stop inside the kitchen. He wants to talk to Jungkook about this, but he doesn’t know where to begin and he feels like he probably needs to calm down first. He’s been hiding his panic from his friends all day, but now that he’s free to show how he feels, his emotions have come out full-force. He can feel himself shaking.

“Tae,” Jungkook says again, putting a hand on his arm to stop it trembling. He can feel Jungkook staring at him, evidently worried. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”

Taehyung follows Jungkook up the stairs, too out of it to register how Bambam is staring at them from the sofa. He isn’t paying much more attention by the time Jungkook gets some spare clothes out of the wardrobe for him to put on, as well as a clean towel. “Have a shower if you want, you can use anything in there that’s mine. There are clean clothes for you to put on and – just relax, calm down a little, okay? I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to talk.” After a second’s thought, Jungkook leans forward and kisses Taehyung on the cheek, before leaving him alone.

It’s surprisingly comforting, showering in Jungkook’s house and using his shampoo and shower gel, knowing that Jungkook will be there for him to cuddle when he goes downstairs. He lets the water rush over him for God knows how long, and he would be worried about using up all the hot water if he wasn’t still so focused on today’s events.

_Imagine if you were gay. God, that would be hilarious._ He has a sudden flashback to his nightmare from a couple of weeks ago, with everyone laughing at him because he had a boyfriend. He hates that that now feels like his reality.

By the time Taehyung gets out of the shower, he still feels upset, but at least his mind is clearer. He’s stopped shaking.

He puts on the white t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms Jungkook has laid out for him, and after a second’s thought, he roots through Jungkook’s drawers to find one of his hoodies, as well. The one he picks out is a little baggy on him, which is just what he’s looking for. He wants something to hide in; something to seek comfort from.

It smells like Jungkook.

Taehyung sits down on the edge of the bed, trying not to overthink. He needs to stop thinking about what happened today, or he’ll make himself all worked up again. He knows that he needs to tell Jungkook about what happened, but his mind has gone numb. All he can think right now is that he needs some affection… he needs to remember why he’s doing this.

He heads down the stairs and immediately feels Jungkook’s eyes on him. Fortunately, Jungkook doesn’t try to speak to him, or even try to pause the film he and Bambam are watching. He simply shifts towards the centre of the sofa, patting the empty space he’s made with his right hand.

V pads over to him wordlessly, settling into the cushions and resting his head against Jungkook’s chest, as he feels Jungkook’s arm settle around his shoulders. After a second he feels Jungkook’s hand in his hair, which always helps soothe his nerves way more than anything he could do himself, and he feels himself breathing a sigh of relief at the simple gesture. When Jungkook feels this _right_ , how could their relationship possibly be wrong?

Jungkook and Bambam keep watching the film – V isn’t paying enough attention to recognise which film it is – and their occasional laughter or comments on the characters help to calm V down a little bit. It’s relieving, having company without any pressure to talk. By the time the credits are rolling down the screen, he’s starting to feel ready to speak.

Jungkook turns the volume down on the TV, considerate enough to let it keep playing so there won’t be any awkward silences – or perhaps the idea is that V doesn’t feel pressured to speak. V isn’t sure which one is the reason, but either way he feels grateful.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jungkook says quietly, and V nods. But he doesn’t have the right words yet, so he falters a bit, looking down at the ground uncertainly.

“Do you want me to leave?” Bambam asks hesitantly.

“No, you can stay,” V answers, finding that he isn’t as bothered as he thought he might be by the prospect of Bambam seeing him so vulnerable. Bambam already saw him after the breakup with Jungkook, when he was a nervous wreck – he feels like they’re past the awkward stage of their friendship by this point.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Jungkook suggests gently. “You spent the day with the other T-Birds, right? Did something happen there?”

V bites his lip. “Yeah. It… it’s stupid,” he mutters with a humourless chuckle.

“It’s not stupid,” Jungkook says immediately. “Anything that makes you this scared isn’t stupid.”

“They just said some things, you know?” V mumbles, looking to both of them to see they understand. And they do; they know how thoughtless people can be if they don’t understand the situation.

“They wanted me to tell them about my girlfriend,” he continues, “and don’t give me that look, Bambam – you know how people make assumptions. So… naturally, I started describing you,” he says to Jungkook, a little shy. “Talking about how great you were, and how well we get on and – and I talked about the times we’ve met over the holidays; and I mentioned Friday. About how we just watched TV and stuff at your house but…” He shakes his head. “I screwed up.”

Bambam frowns. “You screwed up how?”

“I used the wrong pronoun,” V responds, his eyes on the floor. “I said ‘we hung out at _his_ house’, and then Hani started laughing at me and…” He looks up at Jungkook, upset. “It was just like the dream, Kookie.”

“No… it wasn’t,” Jungkook says softly. He sounds sympathetic. “That wasn’t why she was laughing, was it?” he continues, trying to help him see that the two situations aren’t comparable.

“No,” V scoffs. “She thought I just referred to Jennie as a boy by mistake. But of course she couldn’t leave it at that – she had to go and say ‘Imagine if you were actually gay. God, that would be hilarious’.” He gulps, feeling even worse now that he’s repeated those words out loud. It makes them more real.

“She sounds like a shit friend,” Bambam says, annoyed on his friend’s behalf.

“She’s one of my best friends,” V argues, feeling defensive about it, but then he registers his own words and he looks at Jungkook worriedly, his expression crumpling. “She’s one of my best friends, and this is her reaction,” he says sadly. “What’s she going to do when she finds out it’s true?”

“She wouldn’t react like that if she thought it was true,” Jungkook reminds him. “That’s just what she’s like – she made a joke and she took it too far. She does it all the time.”

V shakes his head. “Don’t say shit about Hani.”

“I’ll say whatever shit I want about Hani when Hani’s saying shit about you,” Jungkook combats, but his voice softens when he sees V biting his lip again. “Look, I like Hani. She’s my friend too. But she’s too insensitive when it comes to things like this, and this is a sensitive topic for you.”

“How did the others react after she said that?” Bambam asks curiously.

“Suga joined in, saying… everything was a lie if I was gay, or something. I don’t really remember,” V says quietly. “Apparently I’m the straightest person he knows.”

Bambam laughs. “Well he can’t know many straight people, then, because you’re pretty fucking gay.”

V cracks a smile despite himself. It feels good to have someone talk about it casually, like it isn’t a big deal. “Anyway, J-Hope managed to get them to shut up, saying we had to get on with work on the truck if we ever wanted to get it finished,” V explains. “LE didn’t say anything about it, either, which was good. But she’s always been the quiet type. Who knows what she was thinking.”

“You know they didn’t mean anything by it,” Jungkook says softly.

“That’s what J-Hope said,” V sighs. “But why would they say it if they didn’t mean it?”

Bambam snorts. “From what Jungkook’s told me, your friend group sure does say a whole load of shit.”

Jungkook smiles teasingly. “Take me, for example.”

V laughs. It’s quiet and short, but it’s a start. “That’s different. You’re lying for _me._ ”

Jungkook shrugs. “Same difference. Everyone’s lying for someone.” He wiggles his eyebrows at V, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Hey, maybe Hani’s gay too, and that’s why she got so weird about it.”

V snorts. “Doubt it. Thanks, though.”

There’s a short silence as the film credits come to an end and the TV screen goes black.

“I’d better get going,” Bambam announces. He stands up and stretches his legs, before turning to V. “Will you be alright?”

“Yeah, I’m going to stay here for a while I think,” V responds with a small smile, feeling pleased that Bambam cares enough to ask. “It was good seeing you.”

“Yeah, you too,” Bambam answers, heading out of the room. “I’ll see you soon, Kook.”

“Yeah, bye,” Jungkook calls to him. He then turns to Taehyung. “Shouldn’t you usually check with the host that you can stay later?” Jungkook teases him. They hear Bambam laugh, then the sound of the front door closing behind him.

 “I’m not all that keen on spending the next hour waiting outside for my bus to arrive,” Taehyung smiles. “I figured you’d say something if it bothered you.”

Jungkook smiles back. “You already know I don’t mind. Mum and dad will be back soon – do you want to stay for dinner?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Taehyung answers, cuddling closer to Jungkook. “Um – Kookie?” he says hesitantly.

“Yeah?”

“Can you kiss me?” he asks quietly. “I – I need to remember why I’m doing this. I need to remind myself that you’re here for me, even when no one else is.”

Jungkook cups his jaw and tilts his head up, kissing him gently on the lips. “I’m always here for you,” he mumbles. “But you’ve got other people who are, too, okay? Like J-Hope and Bambam. No one’s going to leave you alone.”

Taehyung exhales shakily. “Yeah, I know. It’s just hard to remember that sometimes.”

Jungkook kisses him again, giving him a soft smile. “Well, if you ever need a reminder, I’m here.”

“Thank you.” Taehyung sits up on the sofa, moving away from Jungkook to look at him properly. “Kookie, I know I don’t say it enough, but this – _us_ – means a lot to me,” he says quietly. “ _You_ mean a lot to me.”

Jungkook gulps, trying to stop his heart from jumping out of his chest. “You mean a lot to me too, Tae.”

And it isn’t ‘I love you’, but for now, it’s everything it needs to be.

 

***

Jungkook is a bit nervous today, to say the least. He’s seen Taehyung every day this week – yesterday Taehyung only stayed for a couple of hours because Jungkook had a slight freak out about how close exams were and kicked him out – but this is the first time since he and Taehyung took the next step in their relationship that Jungkook will see him alongside all the other Pink Ladies and T-Birds. He already knows he won’t be able to concentrate on his friends.

And V clearly doesn’t help him _at all_ , showing up in the tightest jeans he owns and the same shirt that Jungkook stripped him out of on Monday. Cruel, seriously.

“What’s up with the fancy shirt?” Suga scoffs when V sits down. “Trying to impress someone?”

V smirks. “Maybe.”

“You’re staring,” Jimin whispers to Jungkook, knocking him out of his stupor.

“And?” Jungkook replies indignantly. “He looks really good.” This is a prime example of why he’s glad his ‘crush’ on V is out in the open. He may be able to hide that he’s in a relationship, but there’s no way he’d be able to hide the thirst he’s feeling right now. “I’m going to go cool off,” he says after a second. “Tell the others I’ve gone to the bathroom.”

“Wait – don’t you want to pick a drink first?” Jimin asks him, to no avail. Jungkook’s already gone.

The T-Birds and Pink Ladies have been sitting there chatting for a few minutes by the time their waitress arrives. “You guys ready to order?” Jennie asks. She tries to ignore all the stupid grins directed at her and V as she gets out her notepad and pen.

“Not yet,” Jimin apologises. “We’re still waiting on Jisoo to get here, and Jungkook disappeared to the toilet before we could ask him what he wanted.”

Jennie is about to tell him that she doesn’t actually care where the other members of their party are: she’s only here because she’s getting paid for it. But then something registers in the back of her mind and she finds herself asking, “Jungkook?”

“Yeah,” Jimin agrees tentatively as V snaps his head up to look between them, wondering what on earth is happening. “What about him?”

Hani giggles, slapping V on the shoulder. “Oh my _God_ , I can’t believe you told your girlfriend about the whole Jungkook thing.”

V stares at her. “I – what?” he asks in confusion, struggling to catch up.

“Come on, don’t you think it’s a bit cruel to make fun of him like that?” Suga says to V, his tone disapproving.

“Hey, Jungkook, Jennie wants to meet you!” Hani calls excitedly as she sees Jungkook approaching the table.

“Huh?” Jungkook says when he reaches his friends. “What… what did I miss?” he asks Jimin nervously as he sits down.

“ _You’re_ Jungkook?” Jennie asks him in surprise.

V has no idea what’s going on right now, but he can recognise that _somebody_ needs to leave before all his secrets start coming out. “Jennie, can I talk to you for a second?” he interrupts, standing up from his seat.

Jennie glances at him. “I’m working.”

“I don’t care,” V snaps, his teeth gritted as he takes Jennie’s arm and leads her away from the table.

She doesn’t struggle, at least; letting herself be dragged away, which V supposes is a good sign. But it’s hard to concentrate on that when Jennie is asking, “ _That’s_ Jungkook? The guy that yelled at me in the café?”

V frowns, confused. “Jungkook yelled at you in a café?”

“This café, actually.” She shakes his hand off her arm.

“ _Why_?” he asks, dumbfounded.

“Apparently I should’ve been taking better care of you,” she smirks, a playful glint in her eyes. “ _He_ thought we were an item, too.”

V remains silent and Jennie raises an eyebrow pointedly.

“I know you’ve been telling people we’re together.”

V gulps, his step faltering. “Look, I didn’t mean –”

Jennie scoffs, cutting him off. “Like it matters what you _meant._ ” She stops by the condiments counter, turning to face him with a hand on her hip. “Using me as a beard, is that it?”

V gapes. “ _What_?”

“You’re using me as a beard, right?” she repeats nonchalantly. “To cover up whatever the hell you and Jungkook have going on.”

“But – why would you think – I don’t even –” he falters. “How do you know Jungkook?” he settles on after a second. He can hear his voice shaking.

Jennie shrugs. “Told you. He yelled at me. Didn’t say who he was, though, or I would’ve pieced it together much sooner.”

“Pieced what together?” V replies meekly, as his universe starts crumbling around him.

Jennie pauses, looking at him in vague surprise. “You never noticed you were doing it, did you? We only hooked up a couple of times, but each time, you started mumbling his name.”

V stares at her.

“Come to think of it, what do your friends even think we’re talking about?” Jennie asks in confusion. “They thought it was hilarious that I knew who Jungkook was – like, what’s that about? If they think you’re dating _me_?”

V winces, still trying to piece it together in his own head. “Fuck if I know. They probably think I blabbed to you about how Jungkook has a crush on me.”

“He has a _crush_ on you?” Jennie snorts. “ _That’s_ what they think?”

“Please,” V says quietly. “Don’t tell anyone.”

She frowns. “What would be so bad about people finding out you’re dating?”

V stares at her like she’s stupid. “ _Because_. We’re both _guys_.”

Jennie shrugs. “Everyone’s gay nowadays, what’s the big deal?”

V glares at her. “Don’t give me that shit like you have any fucking _idea_ what I’m going through.”

Jennie has the audacity to smirk. “Calm down. I’m only asking.”

“We’ve never had a fucking heart-to-heart before and I don’t think now is the time to start,” he snaps. He then takes a deep breath, his next words coming out much slower and calmer. “Look. Just don’t tell people we’re _not_ together and everything will be fine.”

Jennie rolls her eyes again. “I’m not going to act like we’re a couple. This is _your_ issue.”

“I’m not asking you to pretend we’re together. Just… don’t _deny_ it.” He sighs, frustrated. “Is it _really_ such an inconvenience for you?”

Jennie closes her eyes, trying to muster some patience. “ _Fine_ ,” she relents eventually, her eyes snapping open to glare at V. “I won’t _tell_ anyone. But just so you know, LE already knows we’re not dating. She asked me about it the other week. And it’s not like you gave me any _warning_ , so –”

“LE knows?” V interrupts, his voice quiet.

Jennie’s gaze turns vaguely sympathetic. “All she knows is that we’re not dating. That I haven’t seen you in a while.” She shrugs again, her expression smoothing over into something much more casual. “I won’t say anything else to her. The rest is on you.”

V exhales sharply. “Well – thanks, I guess.”

Jennie scoffs. “You guess? This is annoying for me too, you know. If you’d just asked me to cover for you, I might have actually considered it. Instead I had to find out through your _friends_ that we’re in a relationship. What the fuck is that about?”

V bites his lip. “Jungkook doesn’t like me using you as an excuse,” he admits nervously.

Jennie laughs incredulously. “So why _did_ you, then?”

“It’s not _like_ that – people _assumed_ –”

“And you never bothered to correct them?” Jennie says with a final roll of her eyes. “Sort yourself out, V.” And with that, she walks back into the kitchen, leaving V alone to wonder what the fuck just happened.

He retreats to the table only for J-Hope to ask, “Where did Jennie go?”

V almost snaps at him for asking, but he reins it in. He’ll tell him about what happened later – for now he really just needs to stop thinking about everything. “I don’t know,” he shrugs, forcing himself to sound casual. “Kitchen, I think.”

Jin stares at them in distress. “But… we haven’t ordered.”

Jimin pats him on the knee consolingly.

 

***

 

“I still think Thursday is an odd day to go out to dinner,” Namjoon says casually when he and Jin are on their way to the restaurant.

“We already discussed this,” Jin replies impatiently. “Tomorrow is Good Friday – everywhere will be either packed or closed.”

“And what was wrong with next week?” Namjoon persists.

“Next week wasn’t soon enough,” Jin argues.

Namjoon covers his face with his arm, hiding a smile in the sleeve of his hoodie. “Yeah?” he says happily, his words muffled by the fabric.

Jin looks at him curiously. “What are you doing?”

Namjoon lowers his arm back to his side, a little embarrassed. “I thought I was going to sneeze. False alarm.”

“Oh, fair enough. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to tonight,” Jin continues happily.

“How come?” Namjoon asks, only because he wants to hear Jin say it.

“You know I went to the café for lunch? Well, we didn’t get any further than ordering drinks,” Jin explains obliviously. “I think V and his girlfriend must be fighting at the moment; things were really weird and tense. She hardly even came over to our table. In the end we just gave up and all walked around town instead. So, long story short, I’m _really_ hungry.”

Namjoon raises an eyebrow. “ _And_ you’re looking forward to eating out with me,” he says pointedly. “I mean – I don’t want to assume, but you could have invited any of your other friends.”

“Well, that too,” Jin acknowledges slowly. He glances at Namjoon. “You said Thursday isn’t a good night to go to dinner… is that because Thursday isn’t typically date night?”

Namjoon laughs, a little relieved that Jin feels comfortable enough to tease him about it. “Maybe,” he admits.

“Just because it’s a Thursday doesn’t mean it can’t be a date,” Jin says confidently.

Namjoon doesn’t bother trying to hide his smile this time.

“It’s a good thing I’m hungry,” Jin says once they’re seated in the restaurant and perusing the menu. “Everything looks so good. There’s no way I can choose just one main course.”

“Get as much food as you want,” Namjoon shrugs. “The more food you order, the more food you can review on your blog, right?”

Jin looks at him with wide eyes. “Forgive me for speaking so soon, but I think I’ve found the perfect man,” he announces dramatically.

Namjoon blushes. “Um – shall I pour us some water?” he asks awkwardly, because he doesn’t quite know how to respond. Jin takes pity on him and nods, so Namjoon picks up the jug of water on their table and pours some into Jin’s glass, thanking God when he doesn’t spill anything.

Jin says a small “thank you” and picks up his glass, taking a sip, and Namjoon feels kind of proud for pulling this off. He pours himself some water too, and puts the jug back down.

Everything is fine until he tries to pick up his own glass.

Somehow, instead of picking up the glass, he misjudges the distance and ends up knocking it over, spilling the water all over the table – and all over Jin. Jin looks at him, eyes just as wide as before, but Namjoon has a feeling it’s not because he’s impressed this time.

“Oh my – I’m _so_ sorry,” he gushes, grabbing his napkin. He tries to help mop up the water, leaning over the table to dry Jin’s jeans until he realises his hands are _far_ too close to Jin’s crotch for a first date. He awkwardly takes a step backwards, knocking over his chair in the process. “Sorry,” he repeats again, a little frantically, then turns around and repeats “Sorry!” to a put-out waiter who was trying to walk past their table with food for some other customers. Namjoon picks up his chair, allowing the waiter to get past, and luckily the waiter returns almost immediately with a mop and plenty of napkins.

Namjoon tries to help clean up, but in the process he manages to knock a side plate off the table which smashes into pieces, at which point the waiter sternly tells him to stand off to the side until they’re done.

Once everything’s cleaned up, Namjoon sits back in his seat and looks at Jin shamefully. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say. My only comfort right now is that somewhere, in a parallel universe, there’s a version of me that didn’t just completely ruin our first date.”

Jin, contrary to all of Namjoon’s expectations, starts laughing. “You’re right; this is a _complete_ mess.” He stands up, showing Namjoon how the water has gone all over his jeans and the bottom half of his shirt. “I can’t believe that just happened,” he giggles. “Is it too late to withdraw my statement about you being perfect?”

Namjoon looks at him for a second, surprised that Jin isn’t more angry, but then he cautiously starts laughing too. “Definitely. You were a fool who claimed something to be true without having the proper evidence, and now you’ll have to deal with the consequences. If you were a scholar, you would be shunned for your impulsivity and recklessness.”

Jin laughs. “You’re such a nerd. You don’t really think talking about science and philosophy will stop me from thinking that this date is a disaster, do you?”

Namjoon smiles sheepishly. “Well, a man can hope. Anyway, you understood what I was saying, so by that logic you must be a nerd too.”

Jin raises an eyebrow. “I’m nowhere near as smart as you. Are you really giving me the title of ‘nerd’ without any of the actual intelligence? Because that’s pretty cruel.”

“You’re smart!” Namjoon argues. “You just haven’t properly learnt how to study yet, or how to retain information. That’s why I’m here to help you, anyway.”

“Oh, _that’s_ why you’re here, is it?” Jin asks him playfully. “And here I was thinking it was because you liked me.”

“You must like me too, seeing as you didn’t walk out on me after I spilt water all over you,” Namjoon says logically, but then his expression turns a little guilty. “Aren’t you really uncomfortable?”

“I’m extremely wet,” Jin says in agreement. “And not in a sexy way.”

Namjoon laughs. “I really am sorry. I hope next time I don’t mess things up so much.”

Jin grins. “Don’t worry! We haven’t even eaten yet – there’s plenty of time to make this date a success.”

The date definitely isn’t a success. Because, although Namjoon doesn’t spill any more water, he does manage to drop his knife and fork multiple times; enough that the waiters start to think he’s doing it deliberately. Not to mention the side salad that somehow ends up on the floor next to his cutlery. He even manages to tear the flowers that are in the vase in the middle of their table. “I thought they were fake!” he protests sadly. “I just wanted to see what they felt like.”

As it turns out, Namjoon is extremely clumsy.

“It’s comforting to know that in some ways, you’re just as much of an idiot as me,” Jin says happily as they leave the restaurant. (They may be students, but they still left a tip as an apology. They felt they owed the waiters that much.)

“Did you at least get some good shots for your blog?” Namjoon asks him anxiously. “I really didn’t mean to make such a mess, I swear. Hopefully all the spilled water didn’t ruin the aesthetic, or anything. I think I’ve realised why I never eat out.”

Jin laughs. “Don’t worry, I got plenty of pictures. We’re definitely not going out to eat again, though; I need to save myself that public embarrassment.”

Namjoon smiles awkwardly. “Oh. Right.” He sounds a little disappointed and Jin raises an eyebrow at him.

“We’ll just have to try some other options, until we find a place where we can go out without you breaking anything.”

Namjoon blushes, and Jin thinks he’s adorable. “Maybe I could choose where we go next, then? To give me more of a chance,” Namjoon says hopefully. “Are you free next weekend?”

Jin grins. “I’m free. What did you have in mind?”

Namjoon grins back at him. “It’s a surprise.”

“That makes me nervous,” Jin says pointedly.

Namjoon simply laughs again. (He has a cute laugh. Jin finds himself wanting to make him laugh a lot more.) “Come on, don’t you trust me?” Namjoon says jokily.

Jin is surprised to find that he does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote 1.4k of pure namjin wow I didn’t know I had it in me
> 
> anyway let me know what you thought of this chapter! I live for your comments and they always motivate me so much so yeahhhh if you feel like it, go ahead and tell me what you think :D and also if you have any ideas about what will happen next?? ;P I have plans but I’m curious if any of you will guess right lol


	33. there’s a fever heat runnin’ through my skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook burns out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the beginning of this kinda turned into a chat fic and idk how? oops?? anyway this chapter is mostly taekook-centric so I wanted to still have some pink lady interaction in the beginning :)
> 
> btw I’ve said I want to start posting a new chapter every two weeks (ish), but it’s Easter weekend now and this chapter starts on Good Friday, so I thought it would be nice to post it today ^^
> 
> I hope you like the update! :D it may seem a bit like a filler chapter, but I promise there are some important things happening here :P let’s go

 

It’s Good Friday, and Jungkook is busy doing revision for his PE exam when his phone pings for the first time.

_10:03, Chim –_ **so… how was the date?!?!?**

_10:04, Ro –_ **it’s too early for that much punctuation**

Jungkook snorts as he looks at his phone, watching the messages come through. He doesn’t usually bother to respond to anyone on their group chat, but he does enjoy watching their conversations unfold.

_10:06, Chi Chu –_ **I saw the word date I’m here**

_10:06, Chim –_ **relax Jin’s not here yet**

_10:06, Chim –_ **but hopefully if we spam this chat with enough messages he’ll appear**

_10:07, Chi Chu –_ **oooooh**

_10:07, Chi Chu –_ **good plan**

_10:07, Chi Chu –_ **jin**

_10:07, Chi Chu –_ **jin**

_10:07, Chim–_ **jin**

_10:08, Chi Chu –_ **jin**

_10:08, Chim –_ **jin**

_10:08, Ro –_ **jesus fucking christ you guys I’m putting you on mute**

_10:08, Chi Chu –_ **jin**

_10:08, Chi Chu –_ **oh sorry**

Jungkook grins. Okay, maybe he’s just reading the messages to procrastinate doing more revision, but seriously. He’s been at this for about two hours already and it’s only 10am. He deserves a break.

Out of nowhere, Jungkook starts to feel uneasy again. He has no idea why, but it’s been happening over the past few days, whenever he stops and gives himself a moment to think. He assumes it has something to do with exam stress.

Regretfully, Jungkook locks his phone, turns it upside down and looks back at his PE textbook, trying to distract himself from his strange mood. Something about… muscles, and transferring energy, and… what’s a ligament again? Shit, he should really start paying more attention to the technical side of things in class.

Jungkook almost shakes his head at the thought. It’s a bit late for that now. He’ll just have to try and teach it to himself, and do better next year.

He hears his phone pinging away, but Jungkook resolves not to check it until later. He has to finish making notes for this chapter, and then move onto Music revision. He’s on a tight schedule.

It gets to 10:20, and Jungkook sighs, frustrated with himself as he closes the textbook in front of him. He isn’t satisfied with his notes – they make no sense, probably because the _subject_ makes no sense to him, and all he’s really done is copy the textbook word for word. Maybe he just needs a snack or something, to improve his energy and his concentration. But then he hears his ringtone go off, and he lets himself relax a little, grateful for the distraction.

“Taehyung,” he says softly when he answers the phone. “You have great timing, you know that?”

Taehyung laughs. “What are you up to?”

“Trying to revise,” Jungkook mutters bitterly. “And _failing_. And I’ll be doing a lot more failing if I don’t manage to revise, so I’m kind of stuck in a vicious cycle.” He recaps his study schedule in his head, and realises with a start that he doesn’t actually know where his Music textbook has gone. He’s meant to start revising his set works at 10:30am. Shit.

“Isn’t it ‘circle’?” Taehyung says contemplatively.

“What’s circular?” Jungkook frowns, not really paying attention to the conversation, but instead trying to think where he could’ve left that textbook.

“I think the expression is ‘vicious circle’, not ‘vicious cycle’,” Taehyung explains.

“With all due respect, Tae, I don’t really give a fuck right now,” Jungkook says tightly. And his parents have just turned on the TV – great. He knew there was a reason he preferred to revise without them home. He’s heard them clattering about in the kitchen for hours too, doing Easter baking. No wonder he’s been on edge all morning.

“You alright?” Taehyung asks him, concerned.

“Just stressed about exams,” he answers distractedly. Then his phone pings again, and Jungkook sighs. Apparently Jin has arrived.

_10:22, Jin –_ **you guys are annoying**

_10:22, Ro –_ **how did it go**

_10:22, Chim –_ **HA and you acted like you didn’t care lmao fickle**

_10:23, Ro –_ **fuck off I wasn’t talking to you**

“You sure you’re okay to chat to me? I can call back later,” Taehyung says slowly.

“No, it’s fine,” Jungkook says quickly. “Just give me a sec to turn off notifications so my phone will stop going off.” He unlocks his phone and opens up the group chat, watching as more messages fly across the screen.

_10:23, Jin –_ **anyway it went really well!!**

_10:23, Jin –_ **I mean, it was a disaster, but we still had fun**

_10:23, Chi Chu –_ **disaster?**

_10:23, Chim –_ **noo what happened**

_10:23, Chi Chu –_ **how? why??? don’t ruin my otp**

“Who’s texting you?” Taehyung asks interestedly. “Anyone I should be jealous about? Someone been flirting with you lately?” he jokes (even if he’s a little serious).

_10:24, Jin –_ **well first he spilt water everywhere, including on me, and then he managed to break a plate when he tried to clean it up**

_10:24, Ro –_ **well shit**

_10:24, Chi Chu –_ **oops**

_10:24, Jin –_ **yeah. turns out he’s clumsy**

“Pink Lady group chat,” Jungkook responds after a pause, fiddling with his phone until he’s got the chat on mute. But he’s still got the page open, and he watches as their messages keep popping up.

_10:24, Chim –_ **lmao that reminds me of a time suga tried to make me dinner and he was so nervous he dropped the food all over the floor**

_10:24, Ro –_ **ouch**

_10:24, Chi Chu –_ **aw that’s cute but so sad**

_10:24, Chim –_ **ikr, it actually looked like it could be really good and he’s been too embarrassed to try and cook for me ever since**

_10:25, Ro –_ **I mean I knew suga had a soft spot for you but wow**

_10:25, Jin –_ **uh can we maybe focus here**

_10:25, Jin –_ **I thought you wanted to hear about my date**

_10:25, Chim –_ **sorry carry on**

_10:25, Jin –_ **so he also managed to drop his cutlery AND tear the petals off the flowers on the table**

_10:26, Ro –_ **omg did I ever tell you guys about the time j hope bought me flowers and accidentally squashed them all before he gave them to me**

_10:26, Chi Chu –_ **kook I can see you’re reading these messages why don’t you join in and say hi**

_10:26, Ro –_ **good times**

_10:26, Jin –_ **guys FOCUS**

“You still there?” Taehyung asks him after a couple minutes of silence.

“Uh huh,” Jungkook says, his voice subdued as he finally locks his phone and puts it face down on the table. He wants to be able to talk about his boyfriend, too. Is that so much to ask?

“Jungkook, what’s going on?” Taehyung says. The teasing tone has disappeared from his voice – now he just sounds concerned.

“Nothing,” Jungkook sighs, picking up his phone again and holding it up to his ear resignedly. “Just – all the Pink Ladies, talking about their boyfriends.”

“Oh,” Taehyung says. He’s not really sure what he’s supposed to say to that.

“Yeah, oh,” Jungkook acknowledges. Things suddenly feel awkward, and Jungkook hates that. But he can’t hide how he’s feeling. “It’s fine. They’ll stop in a minute. I don’t even have to read it, but –” But the damage is done.

“You’re upset,” Taehyung says softly.

“A little,” Jungkook admits. “It’ll be nice when I can talk to them about you.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung agrees. “I know. I feel the same way.”

“It’s not the same, Tae,” he says, his voice defeated. “I didn’t realise until this week just how convinced the others were that you’re dating Jennie. At least you have someone to talk about.” He can feel himself getting upset – and running out of _time_ until his next revision session – so he stands up determinedly, resolving to multitask and search for the Music textbook that he _knows_ he had up here while he stays on the phone with Taehyung.

“Yeah, because that went so well the last time,” Taehyung scoffs.

“It’s your own fault you said the wrong pronoun,” Jungkook mumbles. “If you’d thought it through a little more – where the hell did I put my textbook? I swear to God I’m going to fail. I already spent so much time with you this week when I should’ve been revising instead.”

“You sound stressed,” Taehyung comments. He tries to ignore the pang of hurt in his chest at how inconsiderate Jungkook is being; at how he basically just called Taehyung a waste of time. “Maybe it’s good that it’s the bank holiday weekend,” he continues hopefully. “It’ll help you loosen up a little.”

Jungkook scoffs. “Yeah, right. I’ve got to finish all my revision _and_ put up with my family for the entire weekend. I don’t need this right now – where the _fuck_ is it?”

“I thought you liked your family,” Taehyung says hesitantly.

“I do,” Jungkook says, sighing in relief when he finds his textbook poking out from under the bed. It must have fallen on the floor last night when he fell asleep, since he was revising before bed. “But they’re intense. Almost as intense as the Pink Ladies – I bet they’re still messaging each other, complaining about how I never respond. I don’t have _time._ ”

“Maybe you should take a time-out,” Taehyung suggests gently. “Focus on revision for an hour, turn off your phone, block everything else out.”

Jungkook sighs. “Yeah, you’re right. I should go.”

“Oh, I –” Taehyung chuckles nervously. “Right now?”

“Is that a problem?” Jungkook asks, disgruntled. His voice is a little harsher than he intends, but what does Taehyung expect? He’s overtired – exhausted, even, since he’s been working so hard lately – and on top of that he can still hear his parents downstairs, having a nice old time while they watch TV and laugh together. He knows that they’re baking some things for the Easter weekend and he feels like shit having to stay cooped up here in his room, studying non-stop. It’s pissing him off.

“Well, it’s just… we’ve hardly spoke to each other yet,” Taehyung says hesitantly. “I didn’t expect you to leave so soon.”

“It was your suggestion,” Jungkook points out. To his dismay, he hears the volume increase on the TV downstairs. He strides over to his bedroom door, slamming it shut.

“Yeah, but –”

“Taehyung, I know you like to be the most important person in everybody’s lives, but I actually have more important things to do right now than waste my time talking to you,” Jungkook snaps, frustrated. Why the fuck does the TV still sound so loud even when the door’s closed? He’ll have to put in his earphones to try and drown it out. He can’t concentrate when there’s this much background noise.

There’s silence on the other end of the line, and it takes Jungkook a second too long to realise why.

“Tae –”

“Wow,” Taehyung interrupts him. He sounds hurt. “I didn’t realise you felt like that.”

Jungkook gulps, already feeling guilty. “I didn’t mean –”

“No, it’s fine,” Taehyung says quickly. “You’re stressed. Go get some work done, it’ll make you feel better.”

Jungkook sighs. “You know I didn’t mean it.”

“Do your revision,” Taehyung responds tightly.

Jungkook hesitates. But then he checks the time, and it’s 10:30. Time for his next revision session. “Okay. I’ll talk to you soon.”

 

***

 

Jungkook doesn’t talk to him soon. He finds out last minute that his grandparents are coming over for dinner, and by the time they leave he’s too tired to do anything except shower and go to bed. He figures he can talk to Taehyung on Saturday, but that becomes difficult when he’s decided to dedicate the morning to revision and his parents announce that they need his help with the cooking in the afternoon. They’ll be at his grandparents’ house for Easter, but his parents promised to bring over a couple of dishes to help feed the family. Jungkook’s phone is still upstairs in his bedroom when Taehyung rings him.

Just before bed, when Jungkook sees the missed call, he sends Taehyung a quick text:

**hi, sorry I missed your call, things have been hectic at home**

He figures that Taehyung must already be asleep, because he doesn’t receive a reply.

Easter Sunday is no less stressful – between revision and spending time with the family, Jungkook hardly gets a moment to text Taehyung.

**happy easter baby xxx sorry I’ve been so busy lately**

They’re only a couple of minutes away from Jungkook’s grandparents’ house by the time Taehyung responds.

**it’s okay, happy easter x**

Jungkook is probably overthinking, but it isn’t like Taehyung to miss out on the opportunity to send him kisses, or to call him ‘baby’, for that matter. Maybe Taehyung is still upset about what he said on Friday. Jungkook is thinking about ringing him, just to check that things are okay between them – and apologise, shit, did he even say sorry before? He needs to get a grip – but before he has a chance to do anything about it, the car pulls into the driveway and Jungkook is being told to put his phone away and pay attention to his family.

He resolves to fix things tomorrow.

 

***

 

Taehyung knows his boyfriend has been busy lately, the stress he’s under most likely doubling when he has Easter to think about on top of revision. But when Jungkook misses his call again on Monday, and doesn’t respond to any of his texts at all, Taehyung decides that enough is enough. He’s upset, and he hates fighting with Jungkook. Is it really so much to ask for an apology for being called a waste of time? Things were tough last week as it was, firstly with the slip-up he had with his pronouns, and then with Jennie putting things together and figuring out that he and Jungkook were an item. (Sure, Jennie agreed not to say anything more about it, but Taehyung isn’t sure how much he trusts her.) The last thing he needs right now is to be given the silent treatment by his boyfriend.

He’s happy to give Jungkook his family time – after all, it is Easter Monday – but he decides to go to Jungkook’s house on Tuesday and try to smooth things over. (Rationally, he knows that Jungkook was only so short with him on Friday because he was stressed, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some reassurance that Jungkook still cares for him and wants him around.)

It’s just as well that Taehyung arrives so early on Tuesday, really. The reason is because he wakes up early and he can’t get back to sleep, worrying about the state of his relationship and why his boyfriend _still_ hasn’t responded to his texts. But the early start turns out to be a very good decision when Jungkook’s mother opens the door to him at 8:30am and explains that Jungkook is ill and still in bed.

Taehyung’s eyes widen. “He’s ill?” he repeats stupidly.

“Yes, he came down with a cold rather suddenly yesterday,” she says as she lets him inside. “We ended up staying home to look after him, but it looks like it’s got worse today. I tried to get the day off work, but it just wasn’t possible,” she sighs. “You can go up and see him if you’d like; I just went to say goodbye so I know he’s awake. I doubt he’ll be very good company, though.”

“Thank you,” Taehyung says gratefully. “I won’t disturb him, don’t worry. I’d just like to talk to him and check he’s doing okay.”

Once Taehyung is outside Jungkook’s bedroom, he knocks on the door softly, but then decides to go in without waiting for a response. It’s possible that Jungkook has fallen asleep again, but it’s also possible that Jungkook won’t want to talk to him when he realises who it is. And Taehyung needs to settle this.

But as soon as he catches a glimpse of Jungkook’s pale face, almost completely obscured by his duvet cover, all thoughts of discussing their relationship fly out of Taehyung’s mind and he’s simply overwhelmed with the urge to make sure that Jungkook is okay. Fuck it if they had a disagreement, that isn’t important right now.

“Tae?” Jungkook asks in confusion when he realises who’s come into the room. His voice sounds a bit quieter and huskier than usual; probably the result of a sore throat.

“Hi,” Taehyung says, a small smile on his face as he walks over to Jungkook’s bed.

“Did we have plans for today?” Jungkook asks slowly, blinking owlishly at Taehyung as if he’s still trying to wake up. His voice is muffled by the duvet that’s pulled up to his cheeks and Taehyung’s heart stutters. Even lying in bed with a cold, Jungkook is still completely adorable.

“No, but I wanted to see you,” Taehyung answers as he crouches down on the floor, now face to face with his boyfriend.

“Oh,” Jungkook says quietly, just as eloquent as ever. Taehyung feels his heart skip a beat. He’s missed him.

Taehyung hesitantly reaches out and pulls the duvet down a little, so that Jungkook’s entire face is visible. Jungkook’s gaze shifts to the floor and stays there as Taehyung slowly moves his hand back up to Jungkook’s face, caressing his cheek. Jungkook doesn’t acknowledge the touch in any way, but at least he isn’t pulling away. Taehyung counts that as a good sign.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were ill?” Taehyung asks him gently as he starts to stroke Jungkook’s cheek with his thumb.

“I thought you were mad at me,” Jungkook croaks, still staring at the floor.

“That doesn’t matter,” Taehyung responds immediately, still stroking his cheek. “It was just a stupid fight, Kookie. Something like that would never stop me from coming to see if you’re okay.”

Jungkook sighs, finally relaxing into Taehyung’s touch. “Tae, I – I know we need to talk about before. And I want to apologise –”

“Shh,” Taehyung says gently. “We can talk about it later. Right now, let’s just make sure you’re alright.” He presses a kiss to Jungkook’s forehead before moving away, and Jungkook almost whines at the loss of contact. “First things first, have you taken any medication yet?”

“No, not today,” Jungkook mumbles. “I haven’t taken anything since last night.”

“Okay, I’ll go get you some paracetamol,” Taehyung announces, heading towards the door.

“Tae…” Jungkook whines pitifully. “Don’t go.”

Taehyung smiles at him softly. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

When Taehyung returns, Jungkook has already fixed the scowl on his face. “You said you’d be right back,” he complains.

“I had to find your medicine cabinet,” Taehyung explains apologetically. “I got you some water, too, and some spare blankets just in case. I’ve got your paracetamol here – do you need help sitting up?”

“No, I’ve got it,” Jungkook replies, slowly shifting upwards so his back is resting against the headboard.

Taehyung passes him the pills and Jungkook swallows them with a sip of water. “Okay, all done,” Taehyung says gently, brushing Jungkook’s hair away from his forehead. “Do you want to lie back down?”

Jungkook nods and Taehyung helps readjust Jungkook’s duvet once he’s lying down, so that it’s tucked carefully around his body. “Tae… I’m cold,” Jungkook mumbles into his pillow.

Taehyung puts the back of his hand against Jungkook’s forehead and frowns, concerned. “You sure? You’re burning up.”

“Please can I have a blanket?” Jungkook says quietly, shivering as if on cue.

Taehyung’s expression crumples. “Yeah, of course.” He smiles consolingly before picking up a couple of blankets and making sure they’re tucked just as closely around Jungkook’s body. “Hopefully the medication will make your fever go down a little,” he says as he sits on the edge of Jungkook’s bed.

“I have a fever?” Jungkook asks sadly.

“Feels like it. I don’t know for sure, though; I couldn’t find a thermometer.” Taehyung feels an uncomfortable silence settle over them and in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, he scoffs, “I can’t _believe_ you’re ill. I thought you were stronger than that.”

Jungkook huffs out a laugh. “I’ve got a good immune system. It just failed me this time.”

Taehyung smiles, leaning closer to Jungkook until he can nudge their noses together. “You’ll be fine. I’ll take care of you.”

If Jungkook wasn’t under the weather, Taehyung’s sure he would be blushing right about now. “You shouldn’t get too close; I don’t want to infect you,” Jungkook mumbles.

“That’s where you’re mistaken,” Taehyung smirks, but he leans back all the same. “My immune system is much better than yours. I’d never be taken down by a measly cold.”

Jungkook smiles weakly. “You’re annoying.”

“Maybe a little,” Taehyung shrugs, unfazed. “Do you need anything else?”

“No, that’s okay,” Jungkook sighs. “I think I’m going to go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” Taehyung acknowledges, kissing Jungkook’s cheek before he pulls back and stands up. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “You’re staying?”

“Of course,” Taehyung answers, as if it should be obvious. “Who else is going to give you more paracetamol in 4 hours?”

Jungkook gulps, feeling an indescribable sense of fondness well up inside of him. “You don’t have to stay, Tae.”

Taehyung falters. “Do you want me to leave?” He suddenly looks worried and Jungkook feels a pang of guilt.

“That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want you to waste your time –”

“Do you want me to leave?” Taehyung repeats, more gently this time.

Jungkook shakes his head mutely.

“Then I’m staying,” Taehyung says with a small smile. He’s in the doorway when he turns around again to face Jungkook. “I have my phone on; just text me or call me if you need anything, okay? It’ll save you from wearing out your voice.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jungkook says with a small smile. “Thank you.”

Taehyung smiles back before disappearing downstairs.

 

***

 

“You sure you feel well enough to go downstairs?” Taehyung asks nervously for the tenth time as he and Jungkook reach the top of the stairs.

“I told you,” Jungkook huffs. “The meds really helped, and I’m bored upstairs. I want to watch TV.”

“Okay, fine,” Taehyung sighs. “How are we doing this?”

Jungkook’s standing up okay, but he still has two blankets wrapped around him and they’re trailing behind him on the floor.

“What do you mean ‘how’?” Jungkook scoffs. “I’m going to walk down the stairs, it’s not that difficult.”

“You’ll trip,” Taehyung says with a roll of his eyes. “Hang on.”

“You’re worse than my parents,” Jungkook grumbles, but he still holds still while Taehyung picks the ends of the blankets off the floor.

“Okay, you can walk down now,” Taehyung says.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him. “You’re not _seriously_ going to trail behind me with those blankets like a bridesmaid, are you?”

Taehyung looks at him indignantly. “Watch me.”

Jungkook stifles a laugh. “I think that would definitely constitute a safety hazard.”

Taehyung bites back a laugh of his own. “Just go down the stairs, you idiot.”

Once Jungkook is settled on the sofa, blankets wrapped around him securely, Taehyung claps his hands decisively. “Right. Are you hungry?” he asks energetically.

Jungkook winces. “Can you be a bit quieter, please?”

Taehyung grimaces. “Shit, sorry. But do you want some lunch or something? It’s 2pm and you haven’t eaten yet.”

Jungkook frowns. “I thought you couldn’t cook.”

“Hey!” Taehyung protests. “I have you know I make a mean bowl of cereal.”

Jungkook snorts. “I guess I’ll have one of those, then.”

Taehyung grins. “You won’t be disappointed.”

 

***

 

It’s 6pm when Jungkook’s mother gets home. To say she’s surprised to see Jungkook downstairs on the sofa would be an understatement.

“Jungkook! You _scared_ me, I thought you’d still be in bed,” she exclaims. “Are you feeling any better?” She moves closer to him and puts a hand on his forehead. “Your temperature feels much more normal than it did this morning,” she mumbles to herself.

“I think the fever’s gone down a bit,” Jungkook answers. “That’s what Tae thought, at least.”

Jungkook’s mother’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “How long did he stay?”

“He’s still here; he’s just in the bathroom,” Jungkook explains. “He’s been taking care of me all day.” He tries to hide his smile, but if his mother’s expression is anything to go by then he clearly doesn’t succeed.

“Hey, Kookie, are you hungry yet?” Taehyung calls as he walks back into the living room. “I thought I might make us some – oh,” he says in surprise when he notices Mrs Jeon. “Hi. I, uh – I wasn’t going to steal your food. It’s for Jungkook.”

Jungkook’s mother laughs. “It’s fine, Taehyung; you need to eat too. You know you can help yourself to anything in the house. Especially when you’ve been looking after my son all day,” she says fondly, ruffling Jungkook’s hair.

“Stop it,” Jungkook mumbles. “My head still hurts.”

“Anyway, we do have some leftover lasagne in the fridge, if you wanted to heat that up,” Mrs Jeon continues. “You can just warm it in the microwave and then crisp it up in the oven.”

“I wouldn’t trust him with that,” Jungkook cuts in. “Anything you have to put in the oven is a no go. Or the microwave, for that matter.”

Taehyung flushes. “I’m not _that_ bad,” he protests. “Don’t make me look incompetent in front of your parents,” he adds to Jungkook.

Jungkook smiles. “But you _are_ incompetent.”

“I can handle a _microwave_ ,” Taehyung grumbles.

“Jungkook, you know it’s my friend’s birthday today,” Mrs Jeon says slowly, turning to Jungkook. “I wasn’t planning on visiting her and delivering her present tonight because you needed someone to take care of you, but if Taehyung’s staying…”

“He’s already helped out enough, mum,” Jungkook mumbles. “Don’t guilt him into staying all evening. He probably has better things to do.”

“I don’t mind,” Taehyung cuts in. “I’m happy to stay with Jungkook for as long as he needs me.” (And maybe those words are a little more honest than either of them can comprehend just yet.)

So that’s how Taehyung ends up sat on the sofa, in the middle of feeding Jungkook soup when Jungkook’s father arrives home. (Taehyung _can_ handle a microwave, thank you very much. And if the soup is a little burnt on the top, that’s nobody’s business but his.)

“Jungkook?” Mr Jeon calls as he walks into the house, taking off his jacket and shoes in the kitchen. “Are you still in bed?” he shouts.

“I’m in here, dad,” Jungkook replies once he’s swallowed his mouthful of soup, but his voice comes out quieter than he intends it to.

“Your throat still sore?” Taehyung asks him sympathetically, and Jungkook nods his head in reply. “I’ll go tell him we’re in here – I’ll be right back.”

Mr Jeon looks extremely surprised to see Taehyung walk out of the living room. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m feeding Jungkook soup,” he explains, although there was probably a much better way he could’ve explained the reason he’s here. (What can he say? Jungkook’s father makes him nervous.)

“There was no one else who could’ve done that?” he asks sceptically as he looks around the room, probably looking for signs of his wife being home.

“Mrs Jeon went to deliver a birthday present to her friend,” Taehyung responds.

“She left you alone to take care of Jungkook?” Mr Jeon asks in surprise.

“She trusts me,” Taehyung answers confidently, but then he falters, wondering if he’s coming across as arrogant or aggressive. “Um, Mr Jeon, I know we got off on the wrong foot but… I really do care about Jungkook. I don’t expect you to believe me just like that, but I really hope you’ll let me convince you.”

If Mr Jeon was surprised before, now he’s full-on bewildered. “I never said I didn’t like you, Taehyung.” He frowns in consideration. “Perhaps I judged you too harshly, but you have to understand that I only want the best for my son. He means everything to me.”

“He means everything to me, too,” Taehyung says honestly, but his mouth opens in surprise when he realises that he’s said that out loud. “I – I mean –”

“Tae?” Jungkook’s voice interrupts him from the living room.

“Yeah?” Taehyung calls back, grateful for the distraction.

“How long until I can have more paracetamol?”

Taehyung consults the piece of paper in his pocket, immediately going back into business mode. It’s a list he made this morning and has been updating all day, stating which medication Jungkook has had and the times at which he’s taken it. “Another hour,” he answers.

Jungkook appears in the doorway, frowning. “But… my head hurts.”

“I know,” Taehyung says softly. “Once you’ve finished your soup, I can give you some ibuprofen, okay?”

“Okay.” Jungkook then leans against the doorway for support and Taehyung rushes over.

“You shouldn’t be standing if you can’t hold yourself up,” he admonishes gently.

“I can stand just fine,” Jungkook pouts. “I’m just… feeling a little dizzy,” he finishes, stumbling again, but Taehyung’s there to catch him.

“Come on,” Taehyung says worriedly, “let’s get you back to the sofa…”

“Taehyung,” Mr Jeon says before he can leave.

Taehyung gulps, only just realising how rude he’s being by leaving the room mid-conversation. “Sorry,” he says automatically as he turns round, although he feels a little defensive. “It just looked like Jungkook was about to fall, and I didn’t want –”

“I’m trying to thank you,” Jungkook’s father interrupts him. “For looking after him today. It’s clear you’re taking it seriously.”

“Oh. Well… you’re welcome?” he says hesitantly, not really sure if that’s the right answer.

“Tae…” Jungkook pesters, leaning on him for support, and that’s all the encouragement Taehyung needs to stop worrying about Jungkook’s father and lead Jungkook back into the living room.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, baby,” he whispers as he helps Jungkook sit up on the sofa, picking up the bowl of soup again. “Just take it easy. The more you rest, the sooner you’ll get better.”

“I guess that was where I went wrong before,” Jungkook admits sadly. “I pushed myself too hard. I was so worried about doing enough revision, but… I guess I went a bit overboard.”

Taehyung smiles gently. “Don’t blame yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, okay? It’s cute that your mistake was working too hard. Here – open up.”

Jungkook obeys, swallowing another mouthful of soup before he speaks again. “You really don’t have to feed me, Tae.”

“Stop protesting,” Taehyung says as he gets some more soup on the spoon. “You tried to do it yourself to start with and your hand wouldn’t stop shaking. Just let me help you.”

Jungkook sighs, but accepts the help as Taehyung feeds him more soup. “I don’t understand why you’re being so nice. I was so mean to you before.”

“You were stressed,” Taehyung says simply, like it doesn’t bother him that they had an argument. “Yeah, you said some things that made me feel guilty for wanting to spend time with you, but you apologised and it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it. And I’m realising that I need to let you have your space, too,” he says with a small smile.

“I was being unfair,” Jungkook insists. “You had a really tough week, after everything with Hani and Suga and then Jennie finding out, and I just made it worse, I mean what kind of _boyfriend_ –”

“Jungkook,” Taehyung interrupts him softly. “I’ve already forgiven you.” He pauses, deciding to change the subject. “Did you see any of my texts?”

“Not until today,” Jungkook mumbles. “That phone screen is so bright, I wasn’t even able to look at it yesterday. I mean – I read them this afternoon, but still.”

“So that’s why you didn’t respond,” Taehyung hums. “I thought you were upset with me.”

“I didn’t mean to ignore you,” Jungkook says quickly. “Or make you feel guilty for spending time with me. I mean, I was the one to invite you over on Wednesday, and I was the one who said it would be nice if you’d call me every so often to give me a break from revision… I just freaked out and I took things too far.” Jungkook sighs. “This isn’t coming out right. I’ll apologise properly tomorrow, when my head isn’t so fuzzy.”

“You don’t need to,” Taehyung chuckles. “You apologised already, and I forgave you. That’s all there is to it.”

“You promise you’re not mad?” Jungkook says quietly.

“I promise,” Taehyung says, with a quick kiss to his temple. “Now come on, finish up this soup. I’m hungry too, you know.”

Jungkook laughs weakly. “Okay.”

 

***

 

Taehyung visits Jungkook the next day as well, just for good measure. Jungkook insists that he’s doing much better and that he can cope by himself, but Taehyung doesn’t want to risk it. (Plus, he also really wants to see his boyfriend. Not that yesterday wasn’t nice, but it might be good to see Jungkook without the fever, sore throat and blocked nose.)

“You look like you’re doing much better,” Taehyung comments when Jungkook lets him inside. He’s fully dressed, which is a good sign – even if he still has a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“I did tell you,” Jungkook chuckles. “I think it was just a 48 hour thing. I feel much better, seriously.”

“Well I had to make sure,” Taehyung insists, closing the door behind him.

Jungkook rolls his eyes fondly, then heads back to the fridge. “I was just about to make breakfast, do you want anything?”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow. “What are you making?”

“Eggs,” Jungkook replies, getting said eggs out of the fridge before he searches for a pan. “Nothing fancy, but still.”

“Like we discussed yesterday, eggs are much more than I can manage,” Taehyung points out with a smile. “Don’t put yourself down. You’re a really good cook.”

Jungkook scoffs. “When have I ever made you food?”

“You made eggs at J-Hope’s house too!” Taehyung protests.

Jungkook frowns. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. How do you even remember that?”

Taehyung grins. “As I’ve told you before, I remember everything about you.”

Jungkook laughs. “That’s a little creepy, Tae.”

“You love it,” Taehyung claims confidently.

Jungkook snorts. “I beg to differ. Go sit down in the living room; I’ll bring your food through when it’s ready.”

Taehyung hides his smile at how everything is back to normal between them. Call him biased, but he loves their stupid, insignificant conversations. Instead, he says through a pout, “You didn’t ask what type of eggs I wanted.”

“You’ll get what you’re given,” Jungkook grins, pushing his boyfriend out of the room.

Once they’ve eaten, Taehyung kisses Jungkook on the cheek. “That was really nice, babe. You should have more faith in yourself.”

Jungkook blushes. “Um, thanks.”

Taehyung smiles fondly. “So, you’re obviously much better than yesterday.”

“Just like I said,” Jungkook responds pointedly.

“Yeah, just like you said,” Taehyung chuckles. “So what actually happened? Your mum said you came down with the cold on Monday?”

Jungkook sighs. “Yeah. We had to cancel our plans with the family, too. I know I was complaining about having to spend time with them, but I actually felt really bad about it.”

“You couldn’t help being ill,” Taehyung reassures him. “You seemed a bit off towards the end of last week, you know. I figured you were just stressed, but maybe it was also because you were getting ill.”

Jungkook gulps, looking at Taehyung guiltily. “I think… I think maybe the reason I was stressed wasn’t as much to do with the actual workload as I thought it was,” he says hesitantly. “I didn’t really realise until we talked yesterday about why I was so stressed, but.” He sighs, needing a moment to collect his thoughts, and Taehyung waits for him, patient as always. “I guess the whole thing with Jinsoo affected me more than I realised. I never even thought I’d see him again and I – I never _wanted_ to see him again. It caught me off guard.”

Taehyung feels a pang of sympathy when he realises that maybe Jungkook wasn’t as okay as he seemed. “I can’t even imagine how horrible that must have been for you,” he says gently. “I should have realised that you didn’t mean it when you said you were fine.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “I _was_ fine. I felt fine on Monday, and even on Tuesday – I guess I had you, and then I had Bambam over and I’d been studying and it didn’t really sink in until later. But then on Wednesday, I started to get a bit more freaked out and… I guess studying was my way of avoiding the problem?” Jungkook falters, looking at the ground, and Taehyung notes with surprise that Jungkook is embarrassed. “Each time I started to think too much about what happened at my old school, I’d pick up a different textbook and focus on that instead. I definitely overworked myself, but I guess I didn’t realise that was the reason I was doing it… not until I was too ill to work and I couldn’t avoid thinking about it anymore.”

Taehyung looks at his boyfriend sympathetically. “Come here,” he says, his voice soft, and Jungkook wordlessly shuffles closer to Taehyung, leaning into the touch when Taehyung wraps his arms around him. “You don’t need to feel bad about being affected by seeing Jinsoo again,” he says gently. “It would be stranger if you weren’t affected, to be honest. Even if you’ve moved on and you’re in a better place than you were last year, it still stirred up a lot of old emotions and you must have felt really uncomfortable.” He shakes his head. “I didn’t want to bring it up again, obviously, because I could see how much it hurt you, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it this past week. I still can’t believe anybody could do that to you.”

Jungkook chuckles humourlessly. “Well, it was pretty easy for him to do. You saw what he was like. He didn’t even understand why what he did was wrong.”

“You know, I wish you’d said something to me about it,” Taehyung admits. “It’s not fair that you have to deal with all these emotions on your own, and if I’d _known_ , maybe I could’ve –” He cuts himself off, not really sure where he’s going with the sentence, and he can feel that Jungkook isn’t impressed with the direction this conversation is going in.

“What? You could’ve what?” he says flatly.

Taehyung sighs. “I don’t know. I just want you to talk to me about things like this. When Jinsoo showed up and you got all defensive and – and you _yelled_ at him, Kookie. I’ve never seen you like that before. It made me feel really… _weird._ That I didn’t know.” He sounds vulnerable, which Jungkook thinks is strange because _he_ wasn’t the one who was outed by Jinsoo. But then again, maybe Taehyung feels even worse knowing what happened to Jungkook than he would have if it had happened to him himself. Jungkook knows that he felt that way when Taehyung got beaten up.

Jungkook gulps. “I never wanted you to know about it,” he admits quietly. “I never wanted _anyone_ to know about it. I mean, the school figured out something was going on and they called my parents, and luckily I’d already told them I was gay otherwise it would have been _so_ much worse. But I’ve never talked about it before, and I didn’t…” he trails off, his voice becoming shakier the more he speaks, and Taehyung wishes he could do something to make it better.

“Okay,” Taehyung says quickly. “I know. I know it’s hard for you. I didn’t mean to push you.”

“It’s fine,” Jungkook says quietly. “At least you know the truth now.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung agrees. “But if you do ever want to talk about it properly, to get it out of your system… I’m here, okay?”

“I know,” Jungkook smiles gently. “Thanks.” He shakes his head at himself. “We both had a pretty tough week, didn’t we?” he says, almost laughing at the thought of it.

“We certainly did,” Taehyung chuckles, kissing Jungkook on the cheek again. “But at least it’s brought us closer together.”

Jungkook laughs. “Don’t be gross.”

Taehyung giggles. “So, are you _definitely_ feeling better?” he asks.

“I made you breakfast, didn’t I?” Jungkook asks with a raised eyebrow. “I’m doing _great._ ”

“Great enough to make out with me without passing on your infection?” Taehyung asks cheekily.

“Definitely,” Jungkook grins. And he presses their lips together, and everything’s okay again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, even though some important things happened in this chapter, it still IS largely a filler chapter just because I wanted some fluff with taehyung taking care of jungkook lol. what can I say, this whole thing is self-indulgent
> 
> remember to leave me a comment if you feel like it ^.^ I really loved reading through and responding to your comments on the last chapter! and thank you to everyone who’s left kudos, too, I don’t think I’ve mentioned that recently, oops. but yeah, it just makes me really happy that people are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it :D
> 
> HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!


	34. there is a chance that we can make it so far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’m excited for this one lmao I hope you like it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> both the Face Yourself album and Euphoria in one week?!?! I’m reeling
> 
> anyway. last chapter was kinda an interlude before things pick up in the story. enjoy! :’)

 

“Ugh, I can’t do this anymore,” Jungkook groans, throwing his PE textbook onto the floor.

Taehyung laughs against Jungkook’s knee, his head resting on Jungkook’s lap as he lies on the sofa. “That kind of attitude isn’t going to help you pass your exams,” he points out cheekily. This week, he and Jungkook have been discussing how to fit both revision and their relationship into Jungkook’s schedule, and they’ve come up with the ingenious solution that if they study together, they can spend time together _and_ be productive. (Presuming they actually do the work, that is. So right now, it’s not exactly going according to plan.)

“Seriously, I need a break,” Jungkook sighs. He looks down at Taehyung’s smiling face and cups his jaw. “Kiss me?”

“Nope!” Taehyung grins, swatting Jungkook’s hand away. “We said we’d reward ourselves with 5 minutes of kissing for every 30 minutes we spend studying.” He checks his watch. “We still have 3 minutes left of studying before our next break.”

“But you’ve been lying there doing nothing for the past 20 minutes!” Jungkook complains, picking up his textbook off the floor and flicking through it angrily.

Taehyung sits up, jostled by Jungkook changing position, and he looks at Jungkook indignantly. “I’ve been reciting my lines in my head, thank you.”

Jungkook frowns. “But you already did your drama performance.”

Taehyung bites his lip. “I forgot I told you when that was.”

Jungkook laughs. “You didn’t just tell me when it was – you actually rang me when it was over to tell me how it went. Do you seriously not remember?” He rolls his eyes fondly. “You’re an idiot.”

“Look, the point _is,_ my written exams don’t actually start until after half term, so _technically_ –” Taehyung cuts himself off when Jungkook gives him a pointed look. “Okay, _fine_ , I’ve been slacking,” he admits sulkily. He gestures to Jungkook’s textbook. “Quiz me,” he instructs, resting his head back on his boyfriend’s lap.

“But this is the stuff you learnt last year,” Jungkook frowns.

“Some of it carries over to this year,” Taehyung argues. The doorbell rings and Taehyung looks at Jungkook curiously. “Who’s that?”

“Probably just mail,” Jungkook shrugs. He finds one of the pages with practice questions on and looks at Taehyung resignedly. “Okay, I’ll test you on last year’s topics. But don’t blame me if you fail.”

“If I fail then I’ll get to retake the year and spend more time with you,” Taehyung grins.

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “You’re unprecedentedly optimistic sometimes. Okay, let’s make a start on these questions…” He looks down the list as Taehyung checks his watch again.

“There’s not really much point in starting now; we only have 1 minute left,” Taehyung states.

“But we didn’t spend the last 2 minutes studying,” Jungkook frowns. “You said any designated study time we spend not studying doesn’t count, remember?”

“But I’m _bored_ ,” Taehyung whines.

Jungkook laughs. “They were your rules.”

Just then, Jungkook’s mother appears in the doorway. “Jungkook, Jimin’s here,” she informs him.

Jungkook and Taehyung’s eyes widen almost comically and in the next second Taehyung has jumped off the sofa and hidden behind it. “Don’t worry; he’s waiting outside,” she continues with a chuckle and Taehyung pokes his head out from his hiding place.

“You could’ve opened with that,” he grumbles as he stretches his legs out and plops back down next to Jungkook on the sofa.

“Didn’t you tell him I was busy?” Jungkook says, feeling sad that his time with his boyfriend has been interrupted. (It’s already been interrupted enough today with his parents showing up to annoy them every fifteen minutes – the main downside to hanging out with Taehyung on a Saturday.)

“I told him you had a friend over and that you were both busy studying, but he insisted that he had to see you,” she explains. “Anyway, your father and I are heading out to the corner shop to get some milk and eggs, do you want anything?”

“No, we’re good,” Jungkook answers for them as his mother leaves. Part of him wonders whether she waited for Jungkook to be distracted by another friend before she left him and his boyfriend alone in the house.

“Jimin doesn’t usually come round unannounced, does he?” Taehyung frowns, voicing the thought that’s already in Jungkook’s head.

“Never,” Jungkook sighs, turning back to Taehyung apologetically. “Maybe it’s something important… I should go check everything’s okay. Wait here?”

“Like I could leave when Jimin’s stood outside your front door,” Taehyung snorts.

“Right,” Jungkook chuckles self-consciously. “Um, I’ll try to be quick.”

Taehyung waves a hand dismissively. “He’s your best friend. Take your time. Maybe this way I’ll actually get some studying done,” he jokes.

“Okay,” Jungkook smiles. He leans over and presses his lips against Taehyung’s, soft and quick before pulling away. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

 

***

 

“Hey,” Jimin greets him excitedly when Jungkook steps outside.

“Hey,” Jungkook smiles back. “Is something wrong?”

“Do I need something to be wrong to want to see you?” Jimin laughs, shoving Jungkook’s shoulder playfully.

“Probably,” Jungkook argues. “You never just turn up like this.”

Jimin winces, dropping the façade. “Okay, so maybe I have a _slight_ dilemma.”

“Called it,” Jungkook says with a raised eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“It’s Suga,” he sighs.

Jungkook looks at him in alarm. “Shit, what happened?”

“Nothing _happened_ , but it’s our three-month anniversary soon and I have _no_ idea what to do,” Jimin laments.

Jungkook stares at him blankly. “What to do… about what?”

“About a gift, Jungkook!” Jimin says exasperatedly. “I know you’ve never had a proper relationship, but is it so hard to pick up on subtext?”

“First of all, _ouch,_ ” Jungkook says pointedly, “and secondly why do you need to get him anything? Surely your _unconditional love_ is enough, or whatever the hell you two talk about when you’re alone.”

“I need to get him something concrete, Jungook,” Jimin snaps back. “I can’t just give him _love_. The fuck do you think I’ll say to him when he gives me a great gift and I just give him _love_? That’s a crappy present.”

“It’s only three months!” Jungkook protests. “What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big _deal_?” Jimin echoes incredulously. “Three months is a quarter of a year, Jungkook.”

“Stop saying my name at the end of each sentence, it’s weird,” Jungkook mumbles.

“You’re not helping,” Jimin complains.

“Well, I don’t know why you came to me,” Jungkook shrugs helplessly. “You know him much better than I do.”

“I already asked all my friends who are in relationships,” Jimin says tiredly. “I even talked to Jin and Jisoo, who were no help, by the way. Jin wouldn’t even talk to me because he’s too busy getting ready for his second date with Namjoon tonight.”

“Oh, are they going out again already?” Jungkook says in surprise. “That’s cool, do you know what they’re doing?”

“Focus, Jungkook!” Jimin pleads. “Seriously, think about it for a second instead of just dismissing me. Suga is really good at buying me presents; he proved that last year when he made me that mixtape for my birthday. I still listen to it almost every day. And nothing will be as good as that unless I have an _amazing_ idea. _So_ ,” he says emphatically, “put yourself in my shoes – in fact, _anyone’s_ shoes, as long as the person those shoes belong to is in a loving, committed relationship. What would you do?”

Jungkook thinks back to the gift he got Taehyung for their fake Valentine’s Day only last week. “Um, well… I guess I’d get them something I know they’d like?” he attempts.

Jimin raises an eyebrow. “Helpful.”

“No, really,” Jungkook insists hurriedly. “Don’t just get something he’d like, but something… something that’s part of an inside joke, or something only _you_ know he wants. Something that’s great as a material gift, but that also has sentimental value to both of you.”

Jimin stares at him in shock. “What the fuck, Kook? When did you become such a romantic?”

Jungkook blushes as he thinks back to Taehyung waiting for him inside. “I don’t know. I was just thinking on the spot.”

“Well,” Jimin says, finally starting to relax, “you didn’t give me a straight answer –”

“You shouldn’t have come to your gay friend if you wanted a straight answer,” Jungkook grumbles.

“– but at least there’s an idea there that I can work with,” Jimin finishes.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “You’re welcome?”

“Thanks, you’re the best!” Jimin says with an embarrassed smile as he bounds away.

 

***

 

Jungkook re-enters the living room and laughs when he sees Taehyung rifling through his music textbook. “Hard at work, I see,” Jungkook comments.

“Now _that_ would be awkward,” Taehyung smirks with a raised eyebrow.

“Why are you looking through my music textbook?” Jungkook questions, ignoring Taehyung’s comment.

“I’m learning,” Taehyung answers informatively. He closes the book and looks at Jungkook curiously. “What did Jimin want?”

Jungkook bites back a laugh. “He doesn’t know what to get Suga for their three-month anniversary. I don’t know why he’s planning so far in advance; I swear they still have, like, a month to go.”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows. “Is three months a big deal?”

“It’s a quarter of a year, so apparently yes,” Jungkook answers as he takes a seat next to Taehyung on the sofa.

Taehyung frowns. “Damn it. I think we missed ours.”

Jungkook grins. “Does that mean you owe me a present?”

Taehyung laughs. “Hey, that works both ways, you know. You clearly owe me something too.”

“But I don’t have any money,” Jungkook sighs. He then smiles, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “But hey, I’m sure I could pay you back some other way.”

Taehyung looks at Jungkook curiously. “What do you mean?”

Jungkook grins as he pushes Taehyung over on the sofa. Taehyung is about to protest against the attack, but then he sees Jungkook climb on top of him and the words die on his lips. Jungkook presses Taehyung’s body down roughly into the cushions and he kisses Taehyung hard, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.

“Okay, as much as I love this idea,” Taehyung chuckles nervously, “we still have work to do. Besides, your mum could get back any minute.”

Jungkook sighs laboriously. “I can’t wait until we’re at uni and our parents aren’t a problem anymore.”

Taehyung laughs. “Hey, how’s this? Let’s do an hour more work –”

Jungkook groans.

“– and then after that we’re done for the night. We can take the evening off.” He smiles at Jungkook, tracing the lines of his chest through his shirt. “And then we can do whatever we like. Your parents are still going out to dinner tonight, right? Do you think they’ll let me stay?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook smiles. “As long as I complain about being left on my own and feeling lonely without them here, I’m sure they’ll give in and let you stay a few more hours. And I guess that’s a good compromise,” he acknowledges, leaning down to kiss Taehyung again.

Their lips have barely brushed against each other when the sound of a door opening shocks them both out of the moment.

“Up, both of you, now,” Jungkook’s mother says sternly from the doorway.

Jungkook reluctantly pulls away and Taehyung giggles. “I told you.”

“Shut up,” Jungkook grins as he pushes himself up.

 

***

 

Jungkook doesn’t know what’s come over him, but he feels extremely grateful that Rosé has an exam the same day as him. It’s his first official exam of the year, and it’s good to see a familiar face – it’s calming, even; and he needs all the relaxation he can get right now.

Rosé raises an eyebrow at him as Jungkook continues to look around nervously, his fingers tapping out an inconsistent rhythm on his jeans. “Relax. You’ll be fine.”

Jungkook sighs. “I don’t know, Ro. I feel really nervous and _completely_ unprepared. I spent all of yesterday revising, but that’s so last minute, isn’t it? I should’ve done more.”

Rosé blinks at him, stunned into silence for a full two seconds. “I think that’s the first time you’ve called me ‘Ro’.”

Jungkook blinks back at her. “Huh?”

Luckily he’s saved from continuing this awkward conversation by his phone buzzing in his pocket.

“You still have that turned on?” Rosé asks him in alarm. “Jesus, Kook, you could get disqualified for that.”

Jungkook gulps. “I didn’t realise I had it with me – I’ll go put it away now,” he mumbles awkwardly. (He’s too preoccupied to realise that this is probably the first time Rosé has called him ‘Kook’ as well.)

Jungkook quickly runs off to where he left his backpack against the wall. He gets his phone out of his pocket and, upon noticing that he still has a good fifteen minutes before the exam is due to start, he decides that he can afford to respond to the text. He has a pretty good feeling who it will be from, anyway. This might be a good way to calm his nerves.

**good luck for today baby! xxx**

Jungkook smiles at the text, trying to tamp down the smile and failing. He knows it must look a bit weird to start smiling right before an exam, especially one that he’s convinced he hasn’t studied enough for, but he can’t help it. He hopes that Rosé isn’t looking his way; she’ll only think he’s more of a freak than she thinks he is already.

**thanks, I’ll need it**

Another text comes through almost straight away.

**don’t be so pessimistic!! you’re gonna smash it, I know you will. how long is the exam? xx**

**1.5 hours**

He hopes his texts don’t across as rude or abrupt, but he’s a little too nervous right now to be thinking that much about the phrasing. He looks back to the group of students waiting for the exam to start and gets a feeling of butterflies in his stomach when he sees the invigilators come out of the exam hall. They’ll be called in soon.

**ayy perfect! I have a free last lesson, what do you say we get out of here early and meet in the park? I’ll come right after my lesson, you’ll be waiting 10 mins max**

Jungkook smiles again.

**sounds good. I’m going in now, I’ll see you after.**

**knock em dead, babe!**

***

 

“How did it go?” Taehyung asks as he walks over to Jungkook, but his hopeful expression turns into a frown when his boyfriend looks up from his phone, his face pale. “Babe…” Taehyung mumbles, stepping closer to him and pulling him into a hug. “It can’t have been _that_ bad,” he says gently.

Jungkook exhales shakily. “God, I don’t know, Tae. I really wanted to do well, but… I can’t even remember what I wrote; it’s such a blur.”

Taehyung pulls away from the hug just enough to knock his and Jungkook’s foreheads together. “Well, either way, it’s over now, right?” he consoles him, cupping Jungkook’s jaw.

Jungkook sighs. “Yeah. It’s over.”

“When’s the next one?” Taehyung asks.

“Piss off,” Jungkook grumbles. “I’ve only just finished my first exam – now’s not the time to start talking about the next one. I’m still _recovering._ ”

Taehyung bites his lip to stop himself laughing. “Sorry. Anyway, I brought something that might cheer you up,” he says cheerfully, pulling away from Jungkook so he can take a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Guess what’s happening in a few weeks?” he asks excitedly, waving the piece of paper around in the air.

“What?” Jungkook asks flatly. He’s not in the mood for games right now.

“The school dance,” Taehyung explains happily, unfolding the piece of paper to show him. “People started putting up adverts for it this week. I know I’ve already talked about it a lot, but there’s a bit more information on here if you want it.” He hands Jungkook the flyer, who looks at it interestedly, concentrating on it too much to notice how Taehyung’s now biting his lip nervously. “I, uh,” Taehyung starts awkwardly. “I actually wondered if you wanted to go with me.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, looking from the flyer to his boyfriend in surprise. “You mean, like, as a date?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung smiles hopefully. “I’d really like to spend the evening with you. As your date. If you’ll let me.”

“But… won’t everyone see that we’re there together?” Jungkook asks cautiously. He doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself – but he wants it, too. Of course he does.

“I’m sure we can find a way to make it work,” Taehyung answers confidently. He gulps, still nervous even if he’s good at hiding it. “So, what do you say?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Of course it’s a yes, Taehyung. Do you really think that I’d turn you down?”

Taehyung shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know! This is the first time I’ve asked you to do something like this. I don’t even know whether this is your type of thing – I mean, I’ve talked to you a lot about this dance, but you’ve never seemed that interested.”

“Well you know that parties, dances, and social occasions in general aren’t my thing,” Jungkook says with a grin, “but the Pink Ladies will kill me if I don’t go. I might as well _try_ and make it fun, which it will be if I go with you.”

Taehyung grins back. “I’m so happy you said yes. We can get all dressed up and everything, and dance together, and… this is going to be so good,” he proclaims.

Jungkook smirks. “Don’t get too excited yet. We need to think of how we can go together without making it obvious.”

 

***

 

A couple of hours later, V and Jungkook are sitting on J-Hope’s sofa, looking at him apprehensively.

“You want to go to the dance together?” J-Hope repeats.

They nod.

“And… do you have any ideas on how to do that without people finding out that you’re together?” he asks with raised eyebrows. Honestly, he shouldn’t be surprised by this point, but V never seems to think these things through.

“I know what you’re thinking,” V argues, “and I _have_ thought it through.”

Huh. Apparently he stands corrected.

“Last year, we went to the dance together, as one big group, remember?” V reminds him. “No dates or anything. Obviously things will be different this year, because half of us are dating within the group – but that makes me think that we could make it work. There’s 10 of us altogether, so what if everybody pairs up?”

J-Hope pauses, thinking about it, and then he nods contemplatively. “Actually… that might work.” He looks at V, both surprised and impressed by the idea. “So, let’s think through the pairings. You and Jungkook, obviously; me and Rosé; Jimin and Suga. That leaves us with the other four – I’m sure they’ll be happy to pair up and go as friends, right?”

Jungkook feels a grin slowly make its way onto his face. “You really think it’ll work?”

J-Hope smiles back. “I don’t see why not.”

“Wait,” Jungkook says suddenly, looking at his boyfriend in alarm. “ _Shit_ , what about Jennie?”

V raises an eyebrow. “What about her?”

Jungkook scowls. “You’re going to make me say it? Please. Everyone will think it’s weird if you don’t take your _girlfriend_.” He sighs to himself. “I completely forgot.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” V states, a small smile on his lips. “I _broke up_ with Jennie last night. Headed down to the café and told her that I didn’t need her to act like we were a couple anymore. And I broke the news to the T-Birds today.” He winks at Jungkook. “I’m completely _single._ ”

“Oh,” Jungkook says, completely shocked. “Well… you kept that as a surprise?”

“Just in case you needed some cheering up after your exam was over,” V explains. He leans closer to Jungkook and kisses him, slowly and indulgently. Because now he _can._ There aren’t any pretences – or at least not any pretences about him dating somebody else. Now there’s one less obstacle in the way of them being together.

“Well…” Jungkook chuckles nervously as he pulls away. He’s aware that J-Hope is still sat opposite him on the sofa and that they should probably tamp down the PDA just a little. “Thanks?”

“You’re welcome,” V chuckles, kissing him softly on the lips again. Then he shifts across the sofa until he and Jungkook are a respectable distance away from each other, finally taking pity on J-Hope. “I should’ve done it sooner, anyway.”

“How did everyone take it?” Jungkook asks, his gaze flitting apprehensively between V and J-Hope.

“Better than I expected, to be honest,” V responds. “LE didn’t really say anything, but Hani and Suga said they’d been wondering for the last couple of weeks when I’d finally break things off. I guess they could feel the tension last Thursday.”

Jungkook chuckles. “That’s one good thing we got out of that awkward encounter, then.” Against his better judgement, he shifts along the sofa to kiss his boyfriend again, soft and sweet. “Now you’re all mine.”

V fights the blush spreading to his cheeks. He doesn’t get flustered too easily, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the moments where Jungkook gets possessive over him. “Yeah,” he agrees weakly. “All yours.”

“Um – so – are you okay to suggest it?” Jungkook asks J-Hope, deliberately turning away from V as he also tries not to blush. (How does he keep forgetting that J-Hope is in the room?) “Obviously neither of us can do it or it would look suspicious.”

J-Hope shrugs, a small smile on his face at how adorable V and Jungkook are together. “Sure. I’ll act like I’m doing it so that no one feels left out. If we all go down there together, and just split into pairs once we’re at the dance, that probably makes the most sense.”

V exhales sharply, extremely relieved. “Thank you so much. I really owe you one.”

J-Hope shakes his head. “Don’t thank me. It’s fine. I just want you to be happy.”

V scoffs, kicking J-Hope lightly because he’s too far away to shove him. “Shut the fuck up, don’t make it gay.”

J-Hope snorts. “You two are the ones making it gay.” They both ignore his comment.

“Anyway, do you mind waiting to ask the others until next week?” V says anxiously. “I don’t want to have to answer questions about the pairings at Hani’s party. We all know that drunk me doesn’t have much of a filter.”

“Yeah, sure,” J-Hope nods. “I’ll still run it past Rosé this weekend if that’s cool – I’m not going to suggest we all go together without talking to her about it first.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” V agrees.

“What happened to ‘I’m cutting down on alcohol at parties’?” Jungkook teases his boyfriend quietly while J-Hope gets out his phone to text Rosé.

V rolls his eyes. “Cutting _down_ , Jungkook. That doesn’t mean cutting it out entirely. Not that you’d understand.”

“Hey, I understand,” Jungkook pouts. “You don’t have to have had alcohol before to know that it makes you do stupid shit.”

V smiles embarrassedly. “True. You’ve seen it for yourself enough times.”

 

***

 

It’s Friday when Taehyung sees Jungkook again. It’s been weird not seeing him at school, and Taehyung is embarrassed to admit that he’s been contemplating skipping on the days he knows Jungkook won’t be in. There doesn’t feel like there’s much point coming into school without him there. But then again, he also knows that Jungkook would be disappointed in him if he did that. Besides, he does actually need to do well in his exams if he wants to get into his top choice university.

Talking of which, it’s Friday when Taehyung tells his boyfriend the news. “I got in,” he says breathlessly when Jungkook answers the door.

Jungkook frowns. “Got in where?” But then his eyes widen in realisation. “Wait, you’re _kidding._ ”

“No,” Taehyung grins, enveloping Jungkook in a tight hug as soon as he’s inside. “I got the email today. I mean, I’m not _in_ in, because I still have to get the results. But I think I can do it, I really do,” he continues, his words rushed and excited.

“I’m so proud of you,” Jungkook says happily, his voice muffled against Taehyung’s neck. “Hey, I did tell you it’s the same drama school Junghwa goes to, right?” he asks once Taehyung finally lets him go.

“I don’t think you did,” Taehyung says in surprise. “That’s pretty cool though. It means you’re more likely to come over and visit,” he adds with a cheeky smile.

Jungkook snorts. “Of course I’m going to visit you, don’t be stupid. Junghwa doesn’t have to be there for me to want to come and visit next year.”

Taehyung full-on beams this time, not even because Jungkook wants to visit him but because Jungkook has no doubt that they’ll still be together while Taehyung is at university. “I think it’s time to celebrate,” he announces brightly.

Jungkook laughs at him. “How do you expect us to do that? You should’ve given me some warning, so I could buy balloons or something.”

Taehyung snorts. “I don’t need balloons, Kookie. I just need your company.”

Jungkook blushes. “Yeah?”

Taehyung grins at him. “Yeah. Come on, let’s go cuddle.”

They turn on the TV and sit down, Jungkook sat comfortably on Taehyung’s lap with Taehyung’s arms around his waist. Taehyung rests his chin on Jungkook’s shoulder, occasionally moving to pepper kisses against Jungkook’s neck, then returning back to his shoulder to focus on the TV. By the time it gets to the next ad break, when Taehyung kissing Jungkook’s neck again, Jungkook is a little eager for more, but mainly he’s just feeling warm and fuzzy. He feels content.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Jungkook ponders out loud.

“What is?” Taehyung asks, pressing a final kiss to the spot behind Jungkook’s ear before he stops to look at him curiously.

“How much has changed,” Jungkook continues contemplatively, shifting positions so it’s easier to make eye contact. His back is up against the side of the sofa, with Taehyung’s arms around his waist stopping him from falling. “I mean, back last summer I just saw you as an adorable dork. Flash forward a few months and everything’s different.”

Taehyung raises his eyebrows. “You mean I’m a bit more messed up than you originally thought?”

“Not more messed up, just more human,” Jungkook muses. “It just has me thinking… you’ll be off to uni soon, and I’m so proud of you for working so hard and doing so well. But it’s also nice knowing you well enough to know all those things about you that aren’t so polished and incredible, you know? I know so much more about you now, and everything just makes me like you more,” he explains casually, as if those simple words don’t make Taehyung fall even harder. “I should’ve realised, I suppose. It wouldn’t be fair for someone to be that perfect,” Jungkook adds when Taehyung remains silent, flashing him a cheesy grin.

Taehyung scoffs. “You thought I was perfect?”

“Practically,” Jungkook smiles. “Especially when we first met. You were always so patient with me and kept trying, even in the beginning when I struggled to think of anything to say for a solid ten minutes at a time.”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow, teasing him. “I always thought those were comfortable silences.”

“Maybe to you they were,” Jungkook combats. “But to me, they were full of anxious thoughts about how to keep the conversation going and how to stop you from getting bored of me before I had a chance to get to know you.”

Taehyung smiles, unable to hold it back. “You’re so cute.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “My point is that now you seem so much more real. _This_ seems so much more real. And to think it started off as a random summer romance, that wasn’t supposed to mean anything and – and somehow it ended up meaning everything.”

Taehyung’s jaw drops. “ _Damn_ , Jungkook. I’m supposed to be the eloquent one here.”

“Hey, if you’re allowed to be awkward sometimes, I’m allowed to be eloquent sometimes too,” Jungkook grins.

Taehyung grins back, but then he falters. “You don’t mind me teasing you about being awkward, do you? I’m only joking, but I get it’s also kind of sensitive for you, so if it makes you feel weird you can just say –”

“It’s fine,” Jungkook interrupts him gently. “I know you don’t mean it, and it’s pretty funny when you think about the stupid stuff I say when I’m nervous. When we laugh about it together, it makes me feel like it’s not such a big deal.”

Taehyung smiles softly. “Good. I was just checking.”

Jungkook smiles back. “I know. And I like this ‘talking more’ thing, by the way. I think it’s good for us.”

“I agree,” Taehyung nods. “No more secrets, right?”

Jungkook scoffs. “Except for _this_.”

Taehyung looks away guiltily. “You knew when you agreed to date me that I wasn’t ready –”

“Tae, I’m only joking,” Jungkook says carefully, placing his palm on Taehyung’s cheek so that they’re looking at each other face to face again. “I already told you that I don’t mind. And now that J-Hope knows, we have someone to cover for us and make sure it doesn’t get out of hand again like it did last time.”

Taehyung smiles. “You know I’m going to tell other people too, though.”

“Yeah, I know you will eventually,” Jungkook smiles back, resting his head on Taehyung’s shoulder.

“Actually… there’s someone I want to tell soon,” Taehyung admits cautiously. “Tonight, maybe.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen in shock. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung smiles nervously. “Getting an offer from my top choice kind of made me realise it’s time to start being more open about myself. I don’t want to still be hiding when I get to university, you know?” He gulps. “I just… I feel like I need to practise telling people. To practise saying – I’m gay. It’s still… hard. Harder than it should be, at least.” He shakes his head suddenly. “Fuck this, I’m stuttering like you do.”

Jungkook huffs out a surprised laugh.

“My point is: I need to tell somebody who already knows,” Taehyung finishes.

Jungkook frowns at him. “Well… you can tell me again, if you want?” he offers, confused by the statement but still trying to help.

Taehyung laughs slightly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Jungkook looks at him curiously. “Are you going to tell me who it is?”

Taehyung kisses him gently. “Not just yet. I think I need to do it first. If I tell you, I’ll freak out about it before I even get a chance to come out.”

Jungkook is the one to kiss him this time. “Okay, whatever works for you. When are you thinking of doing it?”

Taehyung checks the time on his phone, trying to tamp down his slight panic when he realises how late it is already. “Uh, I’ll probably head out in a couple of hours?” he says hesitantly, half hoping Jungkook will tell him not to go.

“Relax,” Jungkook says gently. “You said they already know, right? You’ll be fine.” He purses his lips, looking at Taehyung apprehensively. “You’ll come back here once you’re done, though, won’t you?”

The company Jungkook’s father works for is hosting an event in London this evening, and Mrs Jeon is travelling to London straight after work to meet her husband so that they can attend the dinner together. They’re staying overnight, which means a free house with no supervision – i.e. the perfect opportunity for Jungkook to take a well-deserved break from revision and spend the evening with his boyfriend.

“Of course I will,” Taehyung chuckles. “You think I’d desert you on the rare occasion I can actually sleep over? I’m still surprised how much your parents trust you, actually. Mine hardly ever let me have the house to myself.”

“That’s because you’re not nearly as trustworthy as I am,” Jungkook boasts.

Taehyung raises an eyebrow, an irritating smirk on his face. “Says the person who invited his boyfriend to stay the night.”

Jungkook laughs. “Stop making me feel guilty about it or I’ll withdraw my invitation.”

 

***

 

When the clock strikes 9pm and Jennie tells him to get out because they’re closing, V heads over to the condiment counter. “LE – can we talk?” V says, his voice quiet.

She walks closer to him, untying her apron. “Sure. What’s up?”

V bites his lip. “I have a feeling you already know what this is about.”

She frowns in confusion, but then she seems to understand and her expression becomes more serious. “You want to go somewhere more private?”

V nods mutely.

While they’re walking through the streets, V can’t help but notice how dark the sky is and it reminds him of the last time he went out with someone this late; the time when he and Jungkook got caught.

“What are you thinking about?” LE asks him. She knows already.

Still, V answers. Maybe this is her way of helping him open up – giving him a conversation starter. “You remember that time a couple of months ago, when you and J-Hope found me hunched over in the street, being beaten up?” he says, keeping his voice casual. He doesn’t know how he manages it – he’s so nervous he feels like he’s about to be sick.

“Yeah,” LE says easily, prompting him to carry on.

“I often wonder about what really happened that night,” he continues, his voice a notch quieter. “What you really did to those guys to make them shut up. How much they told you before they agreed to keep their mouths shut.”

LE glances at him, before focusing on the road again. “I threatened them. I warned them about what happens when people mess with my friends.” She scuffs the concrete with her black boots as they walk. “They didn’t realise who you were – or who you were friends with, at least. Otherwise they wouldn’t have tried anything to start with. That much I’m sure of.”

V keeps his gaze straight ahead. “You didn’t really answer the question.”

LE raises an eyebrow. “Do you want me to?”

V sighs. “You know I wasn’t alone that night.”

LE remains silent.

“You know I haven’t seen Jennie in weeks,” he continues. “You know – you know everything. And I need to tell someone. I need to tell someone who already knows.”

LE slows down, gradually coming to a stop on the corner of the street. There’s nobody around, not at this time of night – it’s too late to be coming home and too early to be going out. They’re alone.

They’re alone, and this may not be quite the way V pictured it happening, but he can’t keep hiding forever.

“I’m gay.” The words make all the blood rush to his ears, so, _so_ terrified what her reaction will be – and he can’t hear anything at all. His thoughts are too loud. If she responds, he isn’t aware of it. But then he’s taking a deep breath, trying to gather up the courage as he says it again – “I’m gay.”

LE’s smiling, encouraging and sympathetic. And that’s all it takes for V’s eyes to fill with tears. “I know,” she says gently. “It’s okay.”

“I need to –” he says, stumbling over his words. He needs to get it out. He _needs_ to.

“You can tell me again, if you want,” LE says, somehow understanding, and V has never been more grateful for her friendship than in this moment.

“I’m gay,” he chokes out, a couple of tears spilling over and this is _stupid_ – she _knows_ now and he feels so pathetic for crying. And isn’t it meant to get easier the more you say it?

LE wordlessly pulls him into a hug. “I’m gay,” he mumbles again, against her shoulder.

She tells him to keep going; to let it all out of his system. But for some reason his chest gets tighter the more he says those two words out loud, and he feels it harder and harder to get the words out. So he stops. And he stands there, clutching at LE’s back as he sobs into her shoulder.

She holds him close to her, squeezing him tightly, until eventually he feels calm enough to disentangle himself from her arms. “I don’t think we’ve ever hugged before,” he sniffs as they part, in a somewhat pitiful attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

“I’m not really a huggy person,” she smiles gently. “But you seemed like you needed it.”

“Yeah,” V agrees awkwardly.

“V,” she says, her voice softer than V’s ever heard it. “I know we’re not really all that close and you probably trust our other friends more. But if you do ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

V smiles. It’s small, but extremely grateful. “Yeah, I know. Thanks.”

LE sighs, finally letting him go. (V wonders somewhere in the back of his mind whether that’s the longest she’s ever maintained physical contact with anyone.) “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” V says, a little tiredly. He feels a bit embarrassed for crying in front of her, but she isn’t acting any differently towards him, so he tries to let it go. He hopes she won’t be stepping on eggshells around him from now on – he somehow doesn’t think that will be a problem, though. She doesn’t seem the type for that.

“Hey, I meant to ask,” she says interestedly, “that guy in the alleyway with you – just a hookup, or what? Those pricks who beat you up didn’t get a good look at him and I’ve been kind of curious about who it was.”

V bites his lip. “He’s definitely not just a hookup.”

LE nods in understanding. “I did wonder. You don’t seem the type to let yourself get attacked for someone who was just a quick fuck.”

“You’re not wrong there,” V acknowledges. “But – we’ve been dating a while. And… I care. A lot.” It feels weird admitting it out loud, rather than somebody just witnessing it for themselves and coming to their own conclusions, like how it happened with J-Hope.

V is almost worried that LE won’t believe him because it’s so out of character, but they’re apparently past that by this point. She simply shrugs in reply. “Anyone I know?”

V bites his lip. “It’s Jungkook.”

Her eyes widen in shock, but almost immediately she covers it up with a scoff and returns to her usual nonchalant demeanour. “I shouldn’t be surprised, really. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

V smiles bashfully. “I should go, actually. I’m staying round his tonight.”

LE smiles back. “I’ll see you around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT’S OFFICIAL, SHE KNOWS
> 
> why am I so excited lmao I obviously knew that she knew. I wrote it. but hey sue me for being excited about the plot development *suga’s voice saying ‘sue it’ plays in the background*
> 
> and as you can see, the dance is now approaching too (so we’re a bit more in line with actual Grease but who’s keeping track anymore hahaha not me.)
> 
> anyway, comment if you want and tell me what you thought! thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter woo ^^


	35. wrapped up in trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ft. Hani’s birthday party and ot10 deciding who to pair up with for the dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for your feedback on the last chapter, you guys are so good to me and your comments always motivate me to write more!! (also I can’t believe this fic has over 10,000 hits now wow)
> 
> I wasn’t going to update until the weekend, but this was ready, so. enjoy! :)

 

“Are you alright?” Jungkook asks Taehyung anxiously in the morning when he’s ready to leave for J-Hope’s. They’re missing a couple of parts that are vital for finishing off the truck, but hopefully they’ll still be able to make some progress.

This is the first time Taehyung will see LE since coming out to her last night, and he’s definitely nervous. “I’ll be fine,” he scoffs anyway, because if he acts like he’s okay, he’ll feel okay, right?

“Tae,” Jungkook says softly, like he knows better than to trust Taehyung’s words, and Taehyung gives up all pretence.

“Okay, I’m freaking out,” he admits. “But she’s always been the type to keep to herself. I know she won’t give anything away to the others. It’s just going to be – weird. I don’t know.”

“Do you regret telling her?” Jungkook asks carefully.

“No,” Taehyung says, his smile small but fond. “She’d already figured out that I was into guys, but she didn’t know about you yet. And that’s the most important part.” He leans forward and kisses Jungkook’s cheek. “I’d better get this over with. I’ll text you about how it goes.”

Jungkook nods. “Good luck, babe.”

Taehyung chuckles. “I’ll see you tonight at Hani’s.”

Jungkook grins. “Yeah.”

 

***

 

“I don’t know why we said we’d meet up today,” Suga announces (already feeling pessimistic, apparently) when V arrives. “There isn’t anything we can do without those final parts. I’ll ask about it at work again next week, but they’re being really fucking stingy about it.”

Before V or J-Hope have a chance to respond, LE walks in with a big rucksack and promptly empties the contents onto the floor. “You mean these parts?” she asks smugly.

Suga gapes. “Where did you get those?”

LE raises an eyebrow. “I have my ways. Now are you going to waste time questioning me, or are we going to finally finish this thing off?”

Suga smiles, satisfied. “Let’s get started.”

V doesn’t want to risk texting Jungkook while Suga is there, just in case he manages to give something away. But as soon as Suga and LE have left, he gets out his phone and lets him know that everything’s fine.

He expected some level of awkwardness, at least, but LE hardly paid him any attention. He’s not sure if he’s grateful or a little miffed that she doesn’t seem to care, but he supposes she’s only giving him what he asked for. If making sure she doesn’t let anything slip to their other friends means that she has to ignore V completely, then he’ll take it. Besides, she’s probably still processing. She may have known about his sexuality, but wrapping her head around his relationship with Jungkook must be quite a lot to take in.

“You’re thinking too hard about something,” Hoseok says with a frown as he locks up the garage. They’re inside now, so they can get ready for Hani’s party together.

“Maybe,” V concedes as he pockets his phone. “I told LE last night.”

Hoseok’s frown only becomes more prominent. “Told her what?”

V raises an eyebrow.

Hoseok’s eyes widen. “Wait, shit, you did? What did she say?”

V shrugs. “She already knew.” He bites back a smile at the shock on Hoseok’s face. “She was with you when I got attacked, remember? Apparently those guys told her a bit more than she let on.”

“Huh,” Hoseok says. “Well, I guess that makes it easier. I didn’t notice anything different about her today, though, so she’s obviously hiding it well.”

“You think?” V frowns, confused. “I thought she was ignoring me.”

Hoseok laughs. “Think about it, V, how much does she ever talk to anyone? She’s fine, relax.”

V shrugs, not entirely convinced. “Maybe I was overthinking.”

“Definitely,” Hoseok says decisively. “So, talking of LE, do you think she’s killed Hani yet?”

 

***

 

“You stayed home today to get ready for this party,” LE says slowly. “So how the _fuck_ haven’t you started setting things up yet?”

Hani looks at her innocently. “I’ve been getting _myself_ ready. You really think this beauty comes naturally?” she squeaks, gesturing to her flouncy dress and beautifully-made-up face.

LE glares at her. “So when you said I could come to yours before the party to help with the finishing touches, you meant that you wanted me to do everything for you?”

“LE, let me ask you a simple question,” Hani replies calmly. “Would you rather be here, celebrating my birthday with me by telling me I look pretty and blowing up birthday balloons, or would you rather be at home with your fucked up family?”

LE rolls her eyes but doesn’t argue any more.

An hour or so later, the doorbell rings. “What the fuck? It isn’t even 7pm yet,” LE mutters as she finishes taping the ‘happy birthday’ streamer to the wall.

“It’s probably Suga,” Hani shrugs. “He’s always early remember? He won’t mind waiting.”

“Isn’t he travelling with Jimin though? I figured Jimin would force him to wait until a normal time,” she continues as she heads towards the door.

“Hey,” Jimin says with a tight smile when LE lets them inside. “We’re early.”

LE fights back a laugh. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Why does everyone seem to think that being early is bad?” Suga grumbles.

“LE, did you seriously tape this to the wall?!” Hani wails from the living room. “This is going to peel off the paint when we take it down.”

“So just keep it up,” she shouts back.

Hani’s wearing a bright smile when LE, Jimin and Suga enter the living room. “Now it can be my birthday _all_ the time,” she proclaims happily.

“Uh, not to ruin your birthday spirit or anything,” Jimin says hesitantly, “but why are you straightening your hair in here?”

“She’s still getting ready, but she didn’t want to miss out on her own party,” LE sighs tiredly, as if she’s had to listen to this explanation multiple times already. “So, instead of missing out, or actually getting ready _on time_ like a _normal person_ ,” she says pointedly, “she decided to make the party area into her makeshift bedroom as well.”

“You described that really weirdly,” Hani comments.

“No, Hani,” LE argues, “it sounds weird because it _is_ weird. There’s literally no way to explain that in an ordinary way.”

“Anyway, happy birthday Hani!” Jimin says brightly, successfully lightening the mood.

“This is for you,” Suga says as he hands her a gift. “From me and Jimin. Happy birthday.”

“Aw, happy my birthday to you too!” she says excitedly, giving them both a hug before she goes back to doing her hair.

 

***

 

A little while later, Suga and Jimin have managed to set up the music and have helped LE finish off the decorations, and the party is in full swing.

People are drinking, but no one’s really drunk yet – the boring part of the party, for some people, but Jungkook enjoys this part. His friends are having fun, but not enough fun that they can’t hold a conversation with him anymore. (It’s when it gets to that point that Jungkook seriously starts to question his choice of friends, because is it really necessary to get drunk at every single party they go to? At least V has said he doesn’t plan on drinking much tonight. He hasn’t arrived yet, but it will be nice to have someone there who’s at least _kind_ of sober. Even if they won’t be able to talk to each other all that much, in the name of keeping up appearances.)

Jungkook is standing by the selection of drinks when V and J-Hope finally arrive at the party, and suddenly Jungkook is very glad there’s water nearby. One look at V has his mouth turning dry.

He should be used to it by now, really. But even if V always looks incredible in those tight jeans and that black eyeshadow, he never usually wears pink _lipstick_ as well, and Jungkook feels personally attacked. It doesn’t help that V has swapped his usual T-Bird jacket for a white oversized hoodie, making him look much less like the typical T-Bird V and more like the adorable Taehyung that he knows and cares for. Jungkook just wants to give him a big hug, but he also kind of wants to make out with him for a while and see how well that lipstick really stays on.

Jungkook watches from the sidelines as V pulls Hani into the centre of the room to dance with her, a bright, boxy smile on his face that’s at odds with the intense look in his eyes when he catches Jungkook looking his way. “You’re trying to kill me,” he mumbles to himself, unaware that Jimin has appeared next to him.

Jimin raises an eyebrow at Jungkook, already knowing what Jungkook is talking about. “You need to calm the fuck down,” he orders, his words coming out with less of a filter now that he’s a little tipsy. “Have some water or something; cleanse your soul.”

Jungkook scowls. “Piss off. I’m allowed to find him attractive.” He rolls his eyes when Jimin doesn’t waver. But still he picks up the half-full glass of water on the table and takes a sip. (Someone poured themselves some tap water and didn’t finish it yet, but Jungkook is too thirsty – in more ways than one – to worry about that right now. Whoever’s glass it is, they’ll just have to get a new one.)

“Anyway, remember how you said you wanted me to keep you updated on everything you were missing at school while you’re on study leave? Well, Jisoo is talking about Lisa a _lot_ more ever since we got back from the Easter holidays,” Jimin tells Jungkook conspiratorially. (Seriously, who knew that Jimin was such a sucker for gossip? Alcohol really does show people in their truest forms.)

“That’s pretty cute,” Jungkook acknowledges. He’s trying to concentrate on the conversation, but the taste of the water is a slight distraction. It’s a little funny, but Jungkook figures it must just be the effect of going back to still water after about 5 cups of lemonade.

“Yeah,” Jimin agrees hesitantly, “but also seriously annoying. How the hell do you tell a girl who thinks she’s straight that she has a massive crush on her female friend?” He scoffs to himself at the thought of how that conversation would go as he pours himself a shot, downing it before Jungkook even has a chance to respond.

Jungkook shrugs. “You can’t tell her. She’ll have to figure it out on her own.”

“It would be really good if she would figure it out on her own _soon_ , though,” Jimin says insistently.

“Hmm,” Jungkook says noncommittally, frowning to himself.

“You alright, Kook?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says with a frown. “This water tastes weird.”

Jimin gives him a look. “You’re an odd one sometimes, you know that?”

“Seriously, don’t you think water in different people’s houses always tastes slightly different to your own?” Jungkook insists. “Hani’s water is _weird._ It’s making me doubt everything I know about H2O. Do you think she gets her water softened, maybe?”

Jimin snorts. “Just drink it. Anyway, I think Jisoo must have met up with Lisa quite a lot over the holidays, because she seems to have a Lisa anecdote for everything that happens. It’s actually kind of terrifying.”

Jungkook laughs. “I swear, only Jisoo could be that oblivious.” He gulps down the last of the water before he and Jimin move to sit on the sofa, and Jungkook lets himself be carried away by the conversation, trying to ignore the strange taste in his mouth.

 

***

 

It’s not too long after that the effects kick in.

Jungkook blinks a few times as the room goes out of focus and his brain starts to go a little numb. “What’s happening?” he asks in confusion, looking to where Jimin is sitting next to him – but Jimin isn’t there anymore. He’s now dancing with Jin and doesn’t appear to have heard Jungkook’s question.

Jungkook blinks again and decides to stand up and move into a quieter room to clear his head a little, but as soon as he stands up he feels unstable on his feet. He’s starting to get a little anxious, and he can’t quite figure out what’s wrong because his brain just isn’t _working,_ but then Taehyung walks into the room and Jungkook almost sighs in relief.

Taehyung. His boyfriend. He’ll explain what’s going on. He’s always so good at understanding when Jungkook isn’t quite himself. In fact, maybe Jungkook has come down with some sort of illness again and he just hasn’t realised it yet.

Jungkook makes a beeline for Taehyung, wobbling a little on his way over, and he can’t help the big smile that appears on his face when Taehyung looks his way.

“You okay?” Taehyung asks, seeming a little concerned, and Jungkook smiles harder because of course Taehyung can tell that something’s wrong.

Jungkook has no control over his next words. What he means to say is ‘why do I feel so weird and spaced out?’ or ‘did the lights in this room just get ten times brighter?’ but as soon as he gets closer to Taehyung, Jungkook smells his cologne and his brain simply times out. He gulps, staring into Taehyung’s eyes, the dark eye makeup somehow making him look infinitely more attractive up close. He can feel that Taehyung’s eyes are focused only on him and it makes him feel so important, so wanted, that it really shouldn’t be a surprise when the words that come out of his mouth are, “Kiss me.”

V laughs apprehensively, his beautiful smoky eyes flitting around the room to see whether any of the other T-Birds and Pink Ladies are looking at them. Hani and LE both seem to be staring, but before he has a chance to think up a game plan, Jungkook lunges towards him at the lack of response and V’s eyes widen in shock – even more so when Jungkook ends up misjudging the distance and simply falling over, directly onto him.

V wraps his arms around Jungkook’s waist and holds him close – holds him _up,_ more like, because without V he would probably fall to the floor – before announcing to the room, “Okay, who spiked Jungkook’s drink?” He looks around the room, frustrated that nobody seems to have an answer, even if they are all now paying attention. “Can someone get him some water?”

“But he’s just _had_ some water,” Jimin pipes up, confused.

At that moment, Jisoo enters the room and heads straight over to the drinks table, not seeming to notice that everybody else is frozen in place or that J-Hope has turned the music down to a low hum in the background. “What the fuck, you guys,” she then groans, turning around to face the rest of the room. “Who drank my vodka? I hadn’t even put the mixer in there yet, Jesus Christ.”

Rosé glances at Jisoo, unimpressed. “I think I’ve figured out what happened to Jungkook,” she says flatly before heading out of the room.

Jimin pales. “Oh my God. He told me it tasted strange but I thought he was just being – well, being _Jungkook_.”

Jungkook looks up at V, a pout on his face. “What’s going on?” he asks obliviously, his brain still cloudy and unfocused. “Why won’t you kiss me?”

V frowns, unable to hide his concern. “How much was in there?” he asks Jimin.

“Not much,” Jisoo answers for him, instantly sobering up a little. “It was full to about… here?” she says, holding her fingers 2 inches apart.

“He practically downed that as a shot,” Jimin says weakly. “No wonder it went straight to his head. I don’t think he’s even eaten anything tonight.” He looks nervously over to where Jungkook is still being held up by V’s arms, his head resting on V’s shoulder. “Is he okay?”

“You okay?” V repeats to Jungkook, patting his back to get his attention.

Jungkook looks up at V and grins. “I’m _great_. But – why are you spinning? Just – oh my God, stay _still_ ,” he says, sounding extremely frustrated as he grasps at V’s shoulders.

“You had some vodka,” V explains patiently. “Don’t worry, you’ll feel better soon.”

Rosé re-enters the room and rolls her eyes. “There’s no need to overreact, guys; he’s just tipsy,” she says, walking over to Jungkook with a glass of water. “Just make sure he drinks this and let him calm down a little.”

V looks at her in surprise. “Thanks, Rosé,” he says gratefully, taking the water from her.

Rosé glares at him. “I got this for Jungkook, not for you, you prick.”

V blinks. “I know – I was going to…” He gulps, realising how it makes him sound. _I was going to help him drink it._ Maybe it would make sense if he and Jungkook were close friends, but according to everybody else, they hardly speak.

“Going to what?” Rosé demands, mistaking his hesitance for him trying to come up with a decent excuse.

“I don’t know,” V says feebly.

“Come on, I’ll help you get him someplace quieter,” J-Hope says as he walks over, honourably coming to the rescue.

“Why is V going too?” Jin laughs. “Like he’ll be any help.”

Jimin looks at Jungkook nervously. “Well, it doesn’t look like Jungkook is going to let go of him any time soon.”

 

***

 

Once Jungkook is stationed in Hani’s bedroom, still clinging onto Taehyung like a lifeline, Taehyung finally allows himself to relax. “How are you doing, Kookie?” he asks gently as they sit down on the edge of the bed.

Jungkook blinks slowly. “I feel weird,” he states.

“If you drink this water, it’ll make you feel better,” Taehyung says, pushing the glass closer to him.

Jungkook takes it apprehensively. “But Hani’s water tastes weird.”

“It tasted weird because it was vodka,” Taehyung explains with a small smile. How is it that even when Jungkook is being a complete idiot, he’s still adorable?

Jungkook stares at his boyfriend. “So that’s why it was so gross?” he says finally.

Taehyung laughs. “Yes, baby, that’s why it was so gross. The water in the glass you’re holding will just taste like ordinary water, I promise.”

Jungkook sighs and takes a sip, nodding to himself when it tastes normal. “So… once I’ve had this water, will my head stop feeling so fuzzy?” he asks slowly.

“It’s not an instant fix, but it should help you feel a bit more normal,” J-Hope answers as he appears in the bedroom. As he walks closer to them he asks V, “Has he drunk any yet?”

“Only a sip,” V responds, watching closely as Jungkook takes the hint and starts to swallow down the water at a more regular pace. “What took you so long?”

“I had to stop Jimin from coming in here to help,” J-Hope explains. “He looked really guilty.”

“It wasn’t his fault,” V acknowledges reluctantly. “I’m still mad at him, though. If Jungkook says the water tastes weird, you check what he’s drinking.”

“Did Jimin see what happened?” Jungkook asks in confusion.

“You, uh… you asked me to kiss you in front of everyone,” V explains awkwardly.

“ _Shit_ , I did?” Jungkook says in panic. “But – what the – why would I do that?”

J-Hope laughs. “I guess the tipsiness is already wearing off.”

“I didn’t mean to, I swear,” Jungkook says apologetically, reaching out towards V with his free hand. “I mean, obviously I _wanted_ to kiss you, but I’m usually more aware of my surroundings than that. I don’t know what happened.”

“You had alcohol, that’s what happened,” V laughs, taking Jungkook’s hand in both of his. “It makes you less alert. But don’t worry about it, really. Everyone knows you were under the influence,” he says teasingly, “and it makes sense that you’d want to kiss your crush, especially when he looks this good.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes at his boyfriend’s cockiness, then winces. “My head hurts.” He pouts, and Taehyung thinks he’s beautiful. “This sucks. Why do people drink again?”

“To let go of their inhibitions,” J-Hope answers with a bright smile.

“I _like_ my inhibitions,” Jungkook mutters bitterly. “I’m much happier _with_ them.”

V bites back a smile. “And that’s why you don’t drink.” He kisses Jungkook gently on the lips, his heart fluttering when Jungkook kisses him back, his entire body relaxing into the touch. Jungkook chases his lips as V pulls away to ask, “Why did you want to kiss me so badly, anyway?”

“I wanted to see how much your lipstick would smudge, and find out if it was scented or whatever,” Jungkook answers easily, but then his eyes widen and he takes another big gulp of water, ignoring the way V and J-Hope are looking at him in amusement. “My inhibitions clearly haven’t returned to me yet,” Jungkook states grumpily once he’s drained the contents of the glass. “I didn’t mean to say that _out loud_ , Jesus Christ.”

V smiles at him fondly as he takes Jungkook’s glass from him and holds it out to the side. “J-Hope, you can go refill this for him.”

J-Hope raises an eyebrow at the order, but he still takes the glass and exits the room.

Taehyung cups Jungkook’s jaw, grinning as his boyfriend leans into the touch. “You’re cute when you’re tipsy,” he announces with a wide smile.

“You think I’m cute no matter what I do,” Jungkook protests half-heartedly.

“You’ve got a point there,” Taehyung giggles. “So – uh. Do you want to test your theory?” he asks hesitantly. “About the lipstick?” he continues when Jungkook looks at him blankly.

Jungkook blinks at him. “You want to?”

“I always want to kiss you, you know that,” Taehyung smiles, leaning closer until their lips brush against each other.

Jungkook doesn’t need any more encouragement, slotting their lips together and kissing him softly. He lets his tongue trail across Taehyung’s lower lip and pulls away briefly, just to ask, “Cherry?”

Taehyung chuckles, nodding, and leans in to kiss him again.

A moment later, there’s a knock on the door and they immediately separate, hoping belatedly that Taehyung’s lipstick actually _is_ good enough quality not to smudge onto Jungkook’s lips, because otherwise that would be kind of hard to explain. However, nobody seems to be entering the room and Taehyung looks at Jungkook in confusion, wondering whether they just imagined the sound. “Um – come in?” Jungkook says hesitantly.

The door opens and LE walks inside. “Hi, guys,” she says with a small smile, looking unsurely between them. She quickly walks into the room and shuts the door behind her. “Sorry to intrude. The others wanted to check on you, so I volunteered. Where’s J-Hope?”

“He’s getting Jungkook more water,” V answers, not exactly making eye contact with her. LE may not have said anything negative about their relationship, but he doesn’t know how to act around her right now.

“Right,” LE nods. “Well, I told the others I’d ask, so – Jungkook, are you okay?”

Jungkook smiles awkwardly. “I’m fine. A little embarrassed, and still kind of dizzy, but fine. I’m in good hands,” he adds, leaning his head on V’s shoulder, and V can’t hide his shy smile.

“Yeah,” LE responds, also smiling. “I guess so.”

V chances a glance at her, and is surprised to see nothing but acceptance in her eyes. Maybe she even seems a little proud. So he forces himself to relax and says genuinely, “Thanks for checking up on him.”

“It wasn’t really my idea,” LE says evasively, never the type to accept praise so easily. “Someone was going to check on him whether I volunteered or not.”

“I know, but I – I’m just glad it was you,” V says, something almost hesitant in the way he wraps an arm around Jungkook’s waist and pulls him closer. “We’ll be back down soon. I’ll probably leave once J-Hope brings up the water.”

Jungkook sighs, leaning closer to him. “Don’t go.”

V looks at him guiltily. “I have to. It will look suspicious otherwise.” He bites his lip, holding Jungkook tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Jungkook says quickly. “I get why you have to. I just don’t want you to. I want you to stay here with me.” He winces at his own words. “I really hate alcohol. Who knew all I needed was a shot of vodka to give up all control over my words?”

V laughs, kissing his hair. “You’re okay. We’ll make sure you sober up a bit more before you’re allowed back downstairs,” he teases, although he’s being kind of serious. They don’t need any more close calls this evening.

“Well, I’m going to head back down now,” LE announces, and V looks up at her in surprise because he kind of forgot she was there. “You guys are cute together,” she adds with a small smile before she leaves the bedroom.

Jungkook has a few more blissful minutes enveloped in his boyfriend’s arms before J-Hope returns. “Sorry for the delay,” he says, not noticing the shift in mood as he closes the door behind him, a full glass of water in his hand. “Jimin decided to start apologising again and wouldn’t let me leave. But at least he’ll pay more attention to what you’re drinking next time,” he tells Jungkook with a wry smile.

V sighs, kissing Jungkook’s temple before he pulls away. “I guess that’s my cue to go.”

Jungkook pouts, already feeling cold. “Right now?”

V nods resignedly and stands up, hesitating when he sees the disappointment on Jungkook’s face. By the time he makes it to the doorway, still reluctant to leave, Jungkook is too focused on drinking his second glass of water to notice what’s happening until V’s hoodie lands on the bed next to him. “You can put this on,” V explains with a small smile when Jungkook looks at him questioningly. “That way you know I’m still here with you.”

Jungkook blushes. “That’s kind of stupid,” he states, but he puts on the hoodie all the same.

“Yeah, I know,” V chuckles. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

About 15 minutes later, when Jungkook appears still wearing V’s hoodie, Suga looks at V with a raised eyebrow and asks him what the fuck is going on.

“Jungkook wouldn’t let go of me, he just kept holding onto my hoodie,” V explains. “So naturally, I took off the hoodie and escaped before he could catch me. I guess he’s claimed it as his own now.”

Suga squints at him, like he’s trying to read in between the lines of what V’s just said. “And you’re okay with that?”

V shrugs. “I’m too hot right now anyway. I’ll just take it back in the morning. If this is what it takes to keep him away from me, then so be it.” And it sounds harsh, even to him, but there’s some truth to it. Because if Jungkook stays away from him, it’s much easier to pretend he doesn’t feel the way he does. But that obviously isn’t the only reason.

Because V quite likes the fact that Jungkook spends the rest of the evening wearing his hoodie. It’s almost like a way of claiming Jungkook as _his_ without having to state anything outright – and if Jungkook’s pleased smile throughout the night is anything to go by, he feels the exact same way.

 

***

 

“So, I spoke to Rosé yesterday after the party,” J-Hope announces when he and the other T-Birds sit down for lunch on Monday, “and we have a suggestion for you guys. What do you say we all go to the dance together, as one big group, and then split into pairs once we get to the dance?”

Suga shrugs. “That sounds good. Jimin and I were just discussing last week how we could go together without making the other Pink Ladies feel upset and left out.”

V sighs in relief, inwardly thanking the universe that Suga’s agreed to the plan. As far as most of their friends know, Suga is the only other one in a relationship here, so it would’ve been much harder to convince everyone else into going together if Suga said no. “Well, I’m up for it,” V announces. “Going as a group of friends might help take my mind off the breakup.”

LE looks at him calculatingly, probably working out what the reason is for J-Hope’s spontaneous suggestion, and the next moment she’s saying, “Hani and I can go together as friends.”

Hani nods eagerly. “Sure, that’ll be fun! Who will you go with, though, V?”

“Maybe you should go with Jungkook,” Suga suggests, and V looks at him in surprise.

“Um – why?” he asks, unable to hide his confusion. The plan is for J-Hope to make the suggestion, but apparently Suga is way ahead of them.

Suga shrugs. “You’re not dating anyone anymore. You’ll be miserable whoever you go with, so you might as well make Jungkook happy by letting his crush take him to the dance.”

V shoves a handful of chips into his mouth, hoping the others will take it as a sign that he’s considering the offer. Really, he’s just trying to hide his smile, as he thanks the universe again for making Suga feel uncharacteristically considerate today. Jimin’s influence really must be getting to him. “Yeah, okay,” V says casually once he’s swallowed his food. “Whatever.”

 

***

 

“Jin, do you want to go to the dance with me?” Jisoo asks when Jin arrives at their lunch table on Tuesday. “Everyone’s decided to pair up, and obviously Jimin and Rosé are already taken.”

Jin looks at her in alarm as he sits down next to Jimin. “Um – I’m really sorry, Jisoo,” he starts apologetically, “but I already asked Namjoon to go with me.”

Jisoo stares at him. “You did? When?”

Jin blushes. “On our date last Saturday. Did I tell you he took me ice skating? Apparently he wanted to choose something he _knew_ he’d be bad at, on the off chance that I’d be bad at it too. We spent the whole time laughing at each other. And then at one point, when he fell over, I said I’d only help him up if he went to the dance with me.”

Jimin laughs. “That’s disgusting.”

“I know,” Jin agrees happily. “He actually said he was planning on asking me too, but I beat him to it. It was cute.”

Jisoo sighs. “Well I guess I can’t really be mad at you for that. Ooh – Jungkook!” she says excitedly when he sits down at their table. “How did your exam go? And, more importantly, do you want to go to the dance with me?”

Jungkook blinks. “I’m gay,” he responds.

Jimin snorts.

“I _know_ ,” Jisoo says with a roll of her eyes, “but everyone’s going with their boyfriends and now it’s just us leftover. So, what do you say? We could go as friends?”

“Actually,” Jimin cuts in before Jungkook has a chance to respond, “Suga told me that V’s agreed to go to the dance with Jungkook.”

Jisoo blinks. “What? Seriously?”

Jin laughs at her. “I hate to break it to you, Chi Chu, but there’s no way Jungkook will go to the dance as your date when he could be going with his actual crush.”

Jisoo sighs again, disappointed. “Fine, okay. I guess I’ll just have to find someone else to take.”

 

***

 

“You’re asking me to be your date to your school dance?” Lisa repeats, a little bewildered.

“Yeah,” Jisoo responds casually. “Everyone else is going with their boyfriends or their crushes, and LE and Hani are going together too, which leaves me all on my own. So, I figured – you like dancing. And there’s a competition and everything! It could be pretty fun.”

Lisa tries to focus, but all her brain does is repeat the words _‘everyone else is going with their boyfriends or their crushes’_ until it short-circuits. “I mean – that _does_ sound like fun…” she says slowly.

“Great!” Jisoo grins. “It’ll be nice to take a friend there instead of a date. I mean, with a date you don’t really know how things will work out, but I know I like you.”

Lisa predicts her mood to plummet at those words, but to her surprise, it doesn’t. Jisoo is more excited to go to the dance with _her_ than with any date, and that matters so much more than the label that they’re putting on it. _I know I like you._

“I like you, too,” Lisa responds without thinking.

Jisoo laughs. “Is that a yes, then?”

Lisa grins. “Yeah, it’s a yes. You’d better look hot, though – I don’t let just anybody take me out on a date,” she teases.

“Oh, trust me, I already have my outfit picked out and you’re going to _love_ it,” Jisoo answers, playing along easily. (Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wonders why this feels like flirting.) “It’s this red dress that comes in at the waist,” she describes, pulling her top tighter around her chest to demonstrate, “and it’s got a slit down the side, too,” she says, gesturing to her left leg.

Lisa gulps. “That sounds… really nice,” she replies, struggling to keep her voice even.

Jisoo lets go of her top then and it returns to being baggy, but Lisa can still feel herself staring. She forces her eyes upwards, just in time to see Jisoo smiling at her like nothing’s happened. “What are you going to wear?”

Lisa almost laughs. “You only just asked me to go. Maybe ask about my outfit once I’ve actually had time to buy something?”

Jisoo scoffs. “Come on, as if you don’t already have ten outfits suited to the occasion.”

Lisa raises an eyebrow. “I _don’t_. You really think I have that many party dresses just lying around waiting to be used?”

Jisoo shrugs. “They don’t have to be party dresses. You look good in anything.”

Seriously, why is Jisoo doing this to her? “Well, I’ll try my best to find something suitable,” Lisa announces, deliberately putting an end to the conversation so that she can go home and squeal into her pillow as soon as possible. “I really need to leave or I’ll miss my bus, okay? You know how far away my house is, and the bus only goes every 2 hours or something, it’s actually ridiculous.”

Jisoo smiles. “Okay, sure thing. I’ll talk to you soon!”

 

***

 

Jungkook and Taehyung meet up again on Thursday and, naturally, they decide to make the most of their time alone together before Jungkook’s parents get home from work. Holding back from doing anything more just in case someone gets home early, they end up simply making out on Jungkook’s bed, with Jungkook’s hands in Taehyung’s hair. He’s tugging at it gently as they kiss, and Taehyung’s moans are only _vaguely_ distracting.

Eventually Jungkook pulls away, biting back a laugh at the sound effects, and Taehyung grins. “I like when you play with my hair,” he says happily.

“Good. Because I like playing with your hair,” Jungkook replies contently.

“Well in that case, my hair is yours,” Taehyung says decisively.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “We have different hair, because we are different people, and suggesting otherwise is frankly quite disturbing.”

“Not like that, you idiot,” Taehyung chuckles. He feels relaxed like this, freer than he has all week. Jungkook in his arms, Jungkook’s eyes focused only on him, Jungkook’s hands still playing with his hair while he talks. “I just mean, if it’s something you like about me, then it’s yours, you know? I guess it’s some sort of possessiveness thing, maybe that’s why I like the idea, who knows. But we’re together, and I like saying it. So, like – you’re mine, and my hair is yours.”

Jungkook holds back his laughter at Taehyung’s very questionable explanation. “You get all of me and I only get your hair?” Jungkook teases. “That hardly seems fair.”

“Never mind,” Taehyung sighs.

Jungkook laughs. “No, baby. Tell me more about this special connection we have through your hair.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes, but takes the opportunity regardless. “Okay, so the hair represents our relationship. It’s like a secret form of communication between us; so if I do something different to my hair, it’s meant to signify something to you, right?”

Jungkook snorts. “You’re insane.”

“Hear me out!” Taehyung protests, a massive grin on his face. “Let’s say, for example, that I get a haircut. Some of my hair is gone, which means that I feel like we’ve drifted apart. So that means we need to spend more time together.”

Jungkook stares at his boyfriend, barely containing his laughter. “Couldn’t it just mean that you needed a haircut?”

Taehyung bites his lip. “Maybe, but –”

“You’re just making this up as you go along,” Jungkook giggles.

“Jungkook,” Taehyung says seriously, “that’s a description of my entire life.” He smiles toothily. “Anyway, don’t you think it’s kind of fun? Like we have our own language?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes fondly. “You’re ridiculous. I know you don’t believe in anything you’re saying either.”

“It made you laugh, though, didn’t it?” Taehyung smiles, looking up at his boyfriend adoringly.

Jungkook grins. “Yeah, it did.”

Jungkook leans down and kisses him again. And Taehyung thinks, not for the first time, that maybe if Jungkook is here with him, he doesn’t have anything to worry about.

 

***

 

It isn’t until Friday that LE realises she’s fucked up.

“Word on the street is you’re taking your shiny new truck to the school dance,” says one of the boys whose name LE never bothered to learn. He appears to be the leader of their little crew; the one who was the first to punch V in the face that night back in February.

“What’s it to you?” LE says disinterestedly. It’s the end of school, and she isn’t eager to get home, but she definitely has better things to do than hold a conversation with these pricks. It wouldn’t be difficult to leave without another word, either: the conversation is five against one, but they know better than to try and corner her. They know better than to mess with someone who comes from a family of criminals.

“ _What’s it to you_ ,” the guy repeats with a humourless laugh, looking round at his friends as if they’ll provide him with an answer. But then his expression turns more serious and he sneers at LE. “What’s it to _me_? I’d say it’s definitely my business when you’ve been stealing stuff from my car.”

LE smirks at him. “Who says I’ve been stealing?”

“Were you not listening?” one of his friends pipes up. “ _He_ says you’ve been stealing.”

It’s difficult to glare at five people at once, but LE gives it her best shot. “Prove it,” she says calmly.

“Okay,” one of the others laughs, getting out his phone. And then he’s playing video footage of last Friday night, when LE went into this kid’s driveway and hijacked his vehicle. She learnt from the best, of course, and she managed to get everything she needed without setting off the alarm or making it look too suspicious – but apparently she missed a security camera. _Fuck._

“You know the rules, LE,” the guy playing the video footage says as he pockets his phone. “Nothing’s settled until we have revenge.”

“You heard him,” says the guy at the front, and LE has a feeling she’s not going to like what comes next. “You mess with us, we mess with you. You steal our shit? We out your friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp


	36. I been there too (so I feel for you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ft. taekook’s monthly anniversary; yoonmin's three-month anniversary; and the truck reveal!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for leaving you guys hanging before! (but not really because I love cliffhangers lol)
> 
> also for anyone who’s reading my other fic ‘light up the darkness before it all disappears’, I haven’t had a chance to respond to comments yet but I will soon, hopefully tonight! thank you so much for your feedback so far! <3
> 
> anyway I hope you enjoy this update ^.^

 

“I still don’t like that you’re skipping school to be here,” Jungkook says when he lets Taehyung inside.

“I thought I already told you that it’s _my_ choice how I spend my time,” Taehyung smirks.

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “And it’s _my_ choice if I want to be upset about it.”

Taehyung kisses Jungkook gently. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I have frees all afternoon, anyway?”

“That depends,” Jungkook says pointedly. “Would you be lying?”

Taehyung giggles, which is all the answer Jungkook needs. “Look, I’m not missing anything important, I swear,” Taehyung says, following after Jungkook as he walks away. “It’s just Biology. Honestly, I’d much rather be here with you.”

Jungkook sighs, turning round to look at Taehyung resignedly. “I know I shouldn’t reward you for skipping school, but…” He shakes his head, cutting himself off. “I’m thinking you probably don’t deserve it now, though.”

Taehyung’s pleasantly surprised smile immediately disappears. “Kookie, come on!” he protests when Jungkook walks upstairs. “I’ve only got two weeks left, anyway.” He sighs dramatically when he receives no response. “I promise I won’t skip any more school, okay?”

Jungkook pokes his head over the banister and grins. “Good. Now get up here, I have something to give you.”

When Taehyung walks into Jungkook’s room, Jungkook is already holding out a cardboard box towards him. “Uh – it’s not wrapped, because I couldn’t find any wrapping paper, so I just put it in here,” he explains awkwardly. “I hope you like it.”

“What is it with you and wrapping paper?” Taehyung smiles fondly, taking the box from his boyfriend. “I didn’t know you’d get me something. I figured we were taking it in turns to buy gifts – I really didn’t expect anything else after you got me those books last month.”

Jungkook blushes. “Well, I just saw this, and I thought of you. How are the books working out for you, by the way?”

Taehyung grins. “I’m halfway through the one on auditions, and I’ve already learnt so much. I’ve also just started the one about getting into character, and it’s given me a lot of useful tips. I’m going to kill it in drama school, I’m telling you.”

Jungkook laughs happily. “Good.” He pushes the box further into Taehyung’s hands. “Open it.”

“Okay,” Taehyung chuckles, opening up the box to see a white leather jacket staring at him. “Oh,” he says in surprise, taking it out of the box to inspect it more closely.

“I actually bought two,” Jungkook says nervously, getting out his own white leather jacket and putting it on, modelling it awkwardly for his boyfriend to see. “You’re always saying how you don’t like our Pink Lady and T-Bird jackets, because they separate us. So I thought, if we both have these white jackets, then that brings us closer together instead of further apart.” He blushes at his own explanation. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Taehyung argues, taking off his T-Bird jacket to try on the new one. “It’s like having couple outfits, except it’s actually _cool_.” He strikes a pose, pulling the jacket tighter around his torso with an eyebrow raised. “How do I look?”

“Like an idiot,” Jungkook laughs, poking at his cheek to stop him from pouting so much. “You look good, though.”

“Talking of looking good…” Taehyung says mysteriously, before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out something that looks like – is that lipstick? “Uh,” he continues awkwardly when he feels Jungkook staring at him, “this isn’t a present, really. I’ve been too preoccupied with school to think about what to buy you, and I promise I’ll do better next month, but I just… You seemed to like that cherry-flavoured lipstick when I had it on at Hani’s party, but we didn’t get a chance to kiss properly. So I brought it with me in case you wanted to try again.”

Jungkook nods, his eyes wide and his pupils already dilating. “Are you putting it on now?”

Taehyung laughs. “Why do you like the lipstick so much?” But he still uncaps the lid and applies the pink colour to his lips, trying not to smile when he realises just how focused Jungkook is on his lips.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook says honestly. “I guess it’s just so unusual for you? And it brings more attention to your lips. And makes me remember how much I like kissing you.” He blushes at his admission. “Or something like that.”

Taehyung grins, putting the lipstick away again. “You ready to make out, then, baby?” he asks, pushing Jungkook over to the bed.

“Definitely,” Jungkook grins.

 

***

 

“I already told you that you didn’t need to walk me over here,” Rosé protests as they approach the picnic tables outside.

Hoseok shrugs, a slight smile on his lips. “And I already told you I didn’t mind.”

“I never asked you to,” Rosé continues. “I know my way around the school, I can get here myself.”

Hoseok raises an eyebrow at her, tightening his hold around her waist almost protectively. “I know you can. But I don’t like the way people treat you when you’re alone. Sue me if I wanted to stick around a little longer to stop them bothering you.”

Rosé rolls her eyes – which is almost always her reaction when Hoseok brings this up. “You’re making yourself late for class,” she says firmly. “And I know you care about your grades more than you let on. Just leave; Jungkook will be out in half an hour anyway.”

Hoseok hesitates, kissing her on the cheek before letting her go. “Remember I love you.”

Rosé fights back a smile; something that’s halfway between a laugh at her boyfriend’s ridiculousness and a pleased grin. “I love you too. Now go away.”

Hoseok laughs. “I’ll see you tonight. You’re ready for the big reveal, right?”

“Even more ready when you phrase it like that,” Rosé snorts. Everyone’s going to his house tonight to see the truck, which has _finally_ been finished. (Rosé could have sworn with the progress they appeared to be making, they would get to the end of the school year and find it was still only half-done.)

Then Hoseok leaves, and Rosé is alone. She sighs as she gets out her phone, texting Jungkook her destination just in case he doesn’t see her on his way out of the exam hall. The picnic tables are basically right outside, but Jungkook’s mind often seems someplace else entirely, so she figures she can’t be too careful.

She fiddles with her phone, scrolling through the messages she never got a chance to read last night on the Pink Lady group chat as she waits for someone to notice her.

And so it begins.

 

***

 

Jungkook walks out of his exam with a dramatic sigh. The Music listening papers have never been his strong point, but at least it’s all over now. (Until he has to sit another one next year. But he’s endeavouring not to focus on that right now.)

He heads over to his bag and puts his pencil case away, checking his phone to see a few new texts from Taehyung and one from Rosé, informing him of her location. She had an exam this morning, and she said she wanted to spend time with J-Hope in his free after lunch anyway, but Jungkook still thinks it was nice of her to wait for him to get out of his exam. They’re heading to the café together while they wait for the others to finish school.

Jungkook swings his backpack over his shoulder and walks over to the picnic tables, smiling when he spots Rosé. But as he gets closer, he notices some people at one of the other benches who are whispering (loudly) and pointing (not so subtly) in Rosé’s direction. He thinks he makes out the words ‘bitch’ and ‘J-Hope’ and ‘doesn’t deserve him’ before the group of girls notice his presence and immediately shut up.

Rosé looks up when he approaches her table, asking him how it went as she pockets her phone and stands up. “It was okay,” he answers distractedly, wondering whether she was really oblivious enough not to hear those girls bitching about her a couple of tables over. But then again, it is kind of windy outside, so he decides not to mention it just in case. “How’s J-Hope?” Jungkook asks in a valiant effort to keep the conversation going when Rosé remains silent.

“Not much different to how he was at lunch,” she says pointedly as they start walking.

“Right,” Jungkook acknowledges awkwardly, because J-Hope sat at their lunch table today and apparently that means Jungkook should already know how he is. Not that they really speak all that much, especially when everyone else is around. “So he’s still good then?” he asks hesitantly.

Rosé raises an eyebrow. “Yes. J-Hope’s fine.” She shoots a look at the group of girls Jungkook heard whispering when she says it, and Rosé has a good poker face, but Jungkook knows her well enough now to see through it. He can tell that she’s hurt.

As they start walking to the café, Jungkook tries to fill the silence that’s settling around them by asking impulsively, “Do you like horses?”

Rosé looks at him. “Kook?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

Once they’re sat in the café and have ordered their drinks, Jungkook gets frustrated with the awkward silence. “I heard them saying stuff about you,” he says, his voice quiet.

Rosé immediately narrows her eyes. “And?”

“Does that happen a lot?” Jungkook continues.

He’s clearly concerned, but Rosé is used to having her guard up.

“Whenever I’m alone,” she answers, feigning nonchalance, but Jungkook’s eyes still widen. He’s always seen Rosé as such a strong character – feisty, opinionated and confident, knowing exactly what she wants. He never would have pictured her as the victim.

Rosé notices the look he’s giving her and rolls her eyes. “Relax, Kook. Don’t make it a big deal. We both know people don’t like me.”

“Being disliked and being bullied are different,” Jungkook argues quietly.

“I just said not to make it a big _deal_ ,” Rosé says tiredly.

“I’m not _making_ it a big deal. It already is,” Jungkook says firmly. Then his voice softens. “I know what it’s like to be bullied. I know what it’s like to be targeted, just because people find something about you they don’t like and don’t care enough to actually get to know you before judging you for it.” When he thinks about it, perhaps Rosé’s situation is more similar to his than he first realised. “If you ever need someone to talk to…”

Rosé scoffs. “I don’t need anyone to _talk_ to, because there isn’t a _problem._ ”

“Fine,” Jungkook sighs, finally letting it go.

Another awkward silence settles over them and Jungkook fidgets in his seat. But then Rosé smiles at him hesitantly and says, “So, horses, huh?”

Jungkook feels himself relax. “Yeah… I’ve never ridden one before but it sounds kind of fun. And scary, actually. I don’t know why I brought that up.”

Rosé laughs. “I never know why you bring _anything_ up,” she says pointedly. But she’s only teasing.

Jungkook smiles too. “That makes two of us.”

 

***

 

When they get to J-Hope’s house, the others are already stood around what is presumably the finished truck with a cover on top.

“Finally,” Jimin says dramatically when he notices them.

“You say that like we weren’t the ones waiting for you,” Jungkook says pointedly, and Jin snickers.

“You can tell they’ve been spending more time together. Jungkook gets sassier every day,” he murmurs to Jisoo, who laughs.

“Is everyone ready?” V calls excitedly from his position next to the truck. He and Suga are stood either side of it, ready to tear off the cover.

Jungkook allows a small smile to spread across his face as he nods, the same excitement mirrored on the other Pink Ladies’ faces. They haven’t been allowed to see the progress for weeks now, the T-Birds insisting that it should be a surprise.

The cover flies off to reveal a shiny red truck, nothing like the run-down piece of junk that Jungkook remembers from a few months ago. Before, it was a dull grey, the paint peeling off and looking extremely worse for wear, but now it’s the colour of Jungkook’s favourite shirt. It’s shiny and new and actually really impressive.

“What do you think?” V asks the Pink Ladies nervously, his eyes automatically flitting to Jungkook to see his reaction.

Jungkook can feel himself gaping. “It’s red,” he says dumbly, his voice barely audible over the others’ congratulatory comments.

“Nice observation,” Rosé scoffs from beside him.

“It’s just – it’s my favourite colour,” Jungkook insists.

He steps closer to the truck to get a better look at it and as Suga explains, “V picked out the colour months ago. Before we even really knew you.”

“It’s obviously just a happy coincidence,” Jimin agrees, probably trying to let Jungkook down gently, but Jungkook doesn’t know why because it’s not like he thinks the truck was painted red for _him._ All of the T-Birds have been involved in its development, not just his boyfriend. It’s definitely a nice surprise, though.

“Just as well you and V are going to the dance together then, Kook,” Hani pipes up. “You’re clearly in tune with each other.”

Jungkook chuckles. “I guess so.”

“Talking of the dance,” Jisoo says as she hops up onto the hood of the truck despite Suga’s protests, making herself comfortable, “are we all driving down together in this?”

“I doubt all of us will fit,” LE points out. “Not unless we want to break about seventeen laws on the way there.”

“That’s specific,” Jimin says with a frown.

“Well, if anybody would know about breaking the law, it’s her,” Hani cackles.

LE scowls at her. “Fuck off, Hani.”

Hani’s smile disappears and she looks at her best friend in confusion, feeling a bit hurt. “I…” she starts, before trailing off uncertainly, wondering when exactly LE became so sensitive about the fact that her sister is a basket-case. Did something happen?

“Uh – anyway,” J-Hope says quickly, taking on Hani’s usual role of diffusing the tension, “shall we see if this thing works?”

Jin looks at him warily. “You mean you haven’t test-driven it yet?”

J-Hope smiles at him brightly. “Nope. Do you want to try it out first?”

Jin stares back in alarm.

V hops into the driver’s seat, shooting Jin a wink as he revs the engine. “Right! Let’s get this thing going,” he grins, and Jungkook feels mildly concerned for his safety but mainly he’s just thinking about how bright V’s smile is right now. He seems happy.

 

***

 

“Hey,” Yoongi says softly when Jimin opens the door to him on Sunday.

“Hey,” Jimin smiles back, letting him inside. “Do you want a drink?”

Dating hasn’t changed all that much between them. Yoongi still escapes to Jimin’s house when his parents get angry and start lashing out at him, but at least with the news of the divorce out in the open, Yoongi’s parents feel less obligated to spend time with one another and instead try to stay out of each other’s way. It’s better for everyone that way. Sure, tensions still run high in the Min household and Yoongi’s parents still get angry with Yoongi and his brother for no apparent reason, but at least Yoongi has his escape.

“Coffee,” Yoongi responds, following Jimin through to the kitchen.

On the contrary, some things _have_ changed since they confessed. A prime example being that Yoongi never _used_ to wrap his arms around Jimin’s waist in a back hug while Jimin made them coffee, or press those soft, little kisses to Jimin’s neck that Jimin loves so much.

“Hmm,” Jimin says contently as he closes his eyes, distracted, and they would both be embarrassed to admit that far too many cups of coffee have been ruined because of moments like this. “Stop it,” he then says, and Yoongi obediently steps away from him so that Jimin can concentrate on finishing off the drinks, a satisfied smirk playing at his lips.

Yoongi has always liked teasing him, but Jimin definitely prefers the way he does it now. Jimin would always choose these soft kisses and light touches over the confusing, flirtatious remarks that he never knew how to interpret.

“You ready for your gift?” Yoongi says with a small smile once they’re sat down with their coffees. “It isn’t that exciting, but that’s only because I’m saving my best ideas for our one-year anniversary.”

Jimin beams at him; a smile that’s more to do with the promise of Yoongi dating him for another nine months than the promise of a more exciting present. “I’ll look forward to it,” he says fondly.

Yoongi grins too, then hands him a small envelope. “Please don’t take this the wrong way,” he says anxiously as Jimin looks inside, “but I figured it was probably a good idea.”

Jimin lets out a surprised laugh. “An appointment at the hair salon?” It’s scheduled for next Thursday, so that he can have it done professionally in time for the dance on Friday.

Yoongi shrugs. “You always screw up when you dye your hair yourself. You seemed upset that the orange colour was fading and you didn’t trust yourself enough to dye it again before the dance next week, so now you don’t have to. You can have it done professionally. This way, it might actually turn out how you expect it to,” he jokes.

Jimin laughs. “Thanks, Yoongi. Really. This is the best local salon we have – how can you even afford this? Hair colouring appointments are expensive.”

Yoongi shrugs off the comment. “It’s not like I have anyone else I want to spend my money on.” He looks into Jimin’s eyes, immediately seeming a bit shyer than before. “Hey, Jiminie – I know I should tell you more, but… I think you know already. I _hope_ you know.”

Jimin kisses Yoongi gently on the lips. “I love you too.”

Yoongi smiles softly, a small gummy smile that’s reserved only for Jimin. “So, where’s my present?”

Jimin smirks as he hands over the gift – and laughs out loud when he sees Yoongi’s confused and vaguely offended expression.

“You bought me the _Cars_ movie?” he asks in disbelief.

“And _Planes_! You’re into mechanics and stuff, so, you know,” Jimin says happily.

Yoongi stares at him. “What the fuck, Jimin?”

Jimin cackles. “Okay, seriously. That one was just a joke, but it was completely worth it.” He then gets out another parcel from where he’d hidden it underneath the coffee table, handing it over to Yoongi excitedly. “This is the real thing.”

Yoongi looks at him warily, but still he carefully unwraps the gift from the tissue paper it’s covered in, as if the tissue paper is just as valuable as the gift inside. “Jimin, for fuck’s sake,” he sighs when he sees what’s inside. “If you were struggling to think of something, you could’ve just asked me what I wanted. Or told me that you didn’t want to do gifts at all. I wouldn’t have minded.”

“You suck at Chemistry,” Jimin says stubbornly. “A revision guide is _helpful_.”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Do you really expect me to use this?”

“I really do,” Jimin tells him seriously. “And I’ll tell you why. Open it.”

“I’m not doing revision _now_ ,” Yoongi protests, but he still opens the Chemistry book when Jimin looks at him sternly.

It takes a moment for the contents of the page to register in his brain, but then he’s staring in confusion, back and forth between the book itself and Jimin. “What is this?”

“It’s your incentive to work hard for your exams,” Jimin says cheerfully. “I know how important it is to you to do well, and how difficult you find it to sit down and study. So this way, you’ll get a Jimin-themed reward every time you complete a chapter of revision. But I’ve been nice and given you the first reward for free, just for opening the book.”

Yoongi smiles shyly. “A home-cooked, candlelit dinner?” he says sceptically, looking at the note again before rolling his eyes at Jimin. “What are we, 60?”

“Someday, sure,” Jimin answers easily, ignoring how his heart beats faster at the thought. “But for now, you’ll have to make do with my crappy teenage attempt at a romantic night in. What do you say?”

Yoongi kisses his boyfriend gently. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Jimin smiles, feeling relieved that Yoongi appreciates the gift. He knew he chose something meaningful, but there was always the chance that it could backfire and come across as insulting. But then again, he supposes the same is true of the gift Yoongi got for him. He supposes they really are a good fit, after all.

 

***

 

“V, can we talk?” LE asks him when she catches him on Monday, and something about her tone of voice has him on edge.

“What is it?” he says casually, because he’s got so used to portraying his cool exterior at school that he doesn’t quite know how to let it go. It only comes out more strongly in moments like this.

LE checks her surroundings, checking that the other T-Birds aren’t in sight. “Let’s go somewhere a bit more private,” she says solemnly, and V hates how this reminds him of the night he came out to her. Although he has a strange feeling that this conversation won’t have such a positive outcome.

“I have something to tell you,” LE says directly, as soon as they’re hidden safely behind the psychology block, surrounded by trees. It’s a hiding spot not many people know about, especially the people who don’t take psychology or who have no reason to hide. But this is where LE goes when she needs to think, and to be on her own. She’s spent a lot of time here lately.

“Why do you sound so serious?” V asks, his voice coming out smaller and more vulnerable than he intends it to.

“I made a mistake,” she confesses, shaking her head at herself. She sucks in a sharp breath and then continues, “I pissed off those guys that beat you up a few months ago. I took the parts we were missing to finish off the truck from one of their cars, that night you told me. I was just so _angry._ I wanted them to pay for what they did. For hurting you.”

V can’t say he likes where this is going. “What are you trying to tell me?”

LE avoids eye contact, staring out at the trees. “I pissed them off, and they don’t want to keep quiet anymore.”

V feels his heart drop at the implication. “You mean…?”

“They want to tell people you’re gay,” LE says tersely. “I don’t even fucking know why they’re so obsessed about it, but it’s something to do with revenge. They know that messing with my friends will hurt me more than trying to hurt me directly. Otherwise they would’ve turned me in already – they have the evidence.”

V remains silent, and the protection the trees and walls provided him with when he first sat down now feels suffocating, like they’re closing in around him.

“I’m so sorry,” LE’s saying, her words registering somewhere in the back of V’s mind. “I tried to figure out a solution myself, so I wouldn’t have to worry you, but nothing’s working. I had to tell you.”

V exhales shakily. He turns his head away from LE, with no clue what to say to her. Not when the same person he trusted with his biggest secret – who helped him keep that secret to himself all those months ago – is now the reason the same secret is going to be put out in the open, for everyone to see and know and _judge_. As if any of them know anything about him.

“I need Jungkook,” he mumbles, more to himself than anyone, as he pulls his phone out of his pocket to dial his boyfriend’s number.

LE stays quiet as the phone rings, knowing that she’s out of her depth. She can’t blame anyone but herself if V pulls away from her again.

“Hey, you caught me just as I got out for lunch,” Jungkook says cheerfully when he picks up. “Only two exams left to go, thank God. I can feel myself cracking under the pressure. Anyway, how are you doing?”

“I – are you – I don’t,” V says incoherently, because he has no idea how to start explaining what the problem is. “Jungkook –”

“What’s wrong?” Jungkook’s voice responds, immediately more serious. “Where are you?”

“Round the back of the psychology block,” V responds.

“I’m on my way,” Jungkook says without hesitation. “I’ll be there in 2 minutes. Do you want me to stay on the line with you?”

“No, it’s okay,” V says, smiling slightly despite the situation, because Jungkook is always so considerate. “LE’s here with me.”

“Okay,” Jungkook responds softly. “I’ll see you soon.” Then the line clicks and Jungkook is gone.

LE and V sit in awkward silence until Jungkook arrives – and, true to his word, Jungkook doesn’t take long to appear.

“Hey,” he says, his voice soft and his eyes trained only on his boyfriend as he walks over to him. V looks _scared_ , and Jungkook doesn’t know why but LE also looks guilty, which is something he’s never seen before, and Jungkook can only assume that something awful has happened. He checks his surroundings thoroughly, before deeming it safe to sit next to V and put his arms around him. “I’m here,” he says quietly, trying to comfort him. “It’s okay, you’re okay.”

V shakes his head as he looks at Jungkook.

 _His_ Jungkook. And he can’t stop his brain from going into overdrive – not when all he wants is Jungkook, when all he’s asking for is his privacy. Not when he has to give that up. He hates how unfair it is, how people think they have a right to know about his private life when it isn’t anyone’s business. How Jungkook had to go through this exact same thing, and how V now knows how it feels. How V hates that he now knows how it feels.

“Everyone’s going to know,” he says sadly, the worry that’s been building since LE asked him to talk escaping him and settling in the air around them. “Everyone’s going to know, and I didn’t even get to tell them myself. And – and they won’t even know about _you,_ which is the only reason I’d want people to know in the first place.”

“What are you talking about?” Jungkook says, confused and terrified at the implications, but trying to keep his voice soft and composed for his boyfriend’s sake.

“Those homophobes who attacked you two before,” LE cuts in quietly. “They’re threatening to out him.”

Jungkook looks at her in shock. “But – I thought you had it under control? That’s what you said… you made them keep quiet.”

“It’s my fault,” LE admits, sounding far too defeated for Jungkook’s liking. “I got so mad when I found out the truth. I stole some stuff from their car to help finish off the truck, and I thought I was so careful, but I missed a camera. Now they have leverage. I don’t scare them anymore.”

Jungkook holds V tighter. “There must be something we can do. There has to be a solution.”

“There isn’t anything, Kookie,” V says, his words devoid of emotion. “I left it too long to tell people, and now they have to find out like this.” He shakes his head at himself. “The only solution I can come up with is that I tell everyone myself, before they get a chance to.”

Jungkook frowns. “But that’s not fair. You’re not ready.”

V scoffs. “Like it fucking _matters_ if I’m ready. Nobody else gives a shit. Everyone’s going to know either way, whether I like it or not.”

“Of course it matters,” Jungkook protests, his expression hardening. He can’t just sit here and watch his boyfriend disregard his own feelings like that. “This isn’t right. I’m not letting this happen to you.”

LE looks at Jungkook. “Do you have any ideas for how we can fix this?” she asks hopefully.

Jungkook gulps. “Um…” Honestly, he doesn’t, but V is now looking at him expectantly as well and he feels pressured to come up with something – _anything_ , if it will stop his boyfriend from looking so sad and vulnerable. “I mean. Well, there must be something we can use against them?”

“I have plenty of stuff to use against them, but apparently they don’t care anymore,” LE says tiredly.

“Well we can’t just give up,” Jungkook argues. “We have to _do_ something.”

“You don’t think I’ve _tried_?” LE says, frustrated.

“Please don’t argue,” V says, his voice quiet and reserved, and Jungkook holds him tighter.

“We’ll fix this,” Jungkook says gently, checking his surroundings again before he leans closer to kiss V’s temple. “I won’t let this happen. I promise.”

Jungkook is still holding V tightly in his arms when they hear footsteps approaching, and Jungkook quickly pulls away, standing up and stepping away from V as they both look nervously to see who’s walking past.

LE watches their actions silently and feels a pang of sympathy for how much they have to hide from everyone. They deserve more than that.

“There you are,” J-Hope says when he spots V, emerging from behind the wall, but then he sees his friends’ serious expressions. “What happened?” he asks apprehensively.

“Everyone’s going to find out,” V replies, starting to feel angry with the situation himself, because Jungkook’s right. This isn’t _fair._

“The homophobes who saw V and Jungkook kissing before,” LE explains, keeping her voice quieter to help balance out the other two. “They want to out him. We’re trying to figure out how to stop them.”

J-Hope sighs. “Well shit.”

“Well shit, indeed,” V agrees with a small smile. It’s comforting, how J-Hope can remain so calm even in a situation as extreme as this.

“How did you find us?” Jungkook asks J-Hope in confusion, as he returns to V’s side and puts an arm around his waist, V leaning into the touch immediately.

“LE comes here whenever she needs time out,” J-Hope says. “Which means the others will probably be here soon, as well, looking for us. We should go.”

“Not until we find a solution,” Jungkook says firmly, borderline desperate. He can’t just sit here and do _nothing_ while V is forced to go through the exact same thing he went through. He can’t let it happen again. Being outed himself was bad enough.

“Any ideas, J-Hope?” LE asks hopefully.

J-Hope frowns in consideration. He doesn’t know if it’ll work, but – “Let’s give them a challenge they can’t resist.”

“A challenge?” Jungkook frowns in confusion. “Like what?”

“I don’t know,” J-Hope responds, frustrated at having to do all the planning himself, “but something that we might actually have a shot at winning. Like an arm wrestle, or… Fuck, I don’t know. Or –”

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Jungkook suggests tentatively. He notices V smiling weakly as J-Hope shakes his head.

“No. Something that they might actually _agree_ to,” J-Hope says. “Something that isn’t based on chance, but based on strength or _skill._ Something like –”

“A car race,” LE says decisively. When the others look at her in confusion, she explains, “If we make it about the cars and the stealing, then nobody else will suspect anything. If we’re going to the effort to stop these people from outing V, we can’t just tell everyone what it’s really about, can we?” she says pointedly.

“But how will they drive their car if it’s missing the parts you stole?” V asks. He sounds like he’s already given up.

“They’ve already replaced the parts,” LE says with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t think I already thought of that? I offered to give them back what I stole, so they’d keep quiet, but they didn’t need any of it anymore.”

“If we challenge them to a car race, that could work,” J-Hope says slowly, thinking it through. “If we win, they have to keep quiet. It’s a good deal.”

“What will everyone else think you’re racing for, though?” Jungkook asks anxiously, trying not to get his hopes up too high. The plan will only work if they can pretend the stakes are different.

“Ownership,” LE decides. And it’s settled. Now all they have to do is convince those idiots to take on the challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyy and I bet you were wondering if I was even gonna include the car race lol everything’s coming together! (or apart… who knows???)
> 
> thank you so much for reading! remember to comment and let me know what you think, if you want to :’) <3


	37. it’s raining on prom night (raining tears from my eyes over you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit’s about to go down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, if you’ve seen the film, you kinda know what’s coming haha. in some form or another, at least. if not, then, surprise??
> 
> either way, hope you enjoy! <3

“The race is happening next Friday,” Taehyung tells Jungkook when he meets him in the park after school.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “You managed to convince them into it?”

“Uh huh,” Taehyung grins. “They were sceptical at first, but then I said _‘What? You scared you’re going to lose?’_ and apparently that’s all it took for them to agree. Stupid, I know, but it’s good for us, at least. If we win, they’ll keep quiet. _And_ give us their car. So all we need to do now is make sure J-Hope doesn’t screw it up.”

Jungkook smiles slightly, but Taehyung can tell he’s trying to hide his nerves. “Do you think he can win?”

Taehyung nods. “He knows how important this is. There’s no way he’d let us lose.”

Jungkook sighs resignedly. “Tae… are you sure you want to go to the dance with me?”

Taehyung looks at him in surprise. “Of course I want to go with you. Where did that come from?”

“I just – it’s only two days from now, and after everything that happened, you’re pretty on edge and I don’t want to do anything to make it worse –”

“You’re not making it worse,” Taehyung insists. “This is what both of us want. This is an opportunity for us to actually be _together._ The way we should be. I’m not letting them ruin this for us, okay?” He pulls Jungkook into a hug, squeezing him tightly. “Listen to me, here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll have your final exam tomorrow and ace it. Then we’ll go to the dance together and have an _amazing_ time. Then on Sunday I’ll go to Hani’s for the Leaver’s party, and you’re meeting up with Rosé, right?” He waits for Jungkook to nod before he continues, “Then it’ll be half term and we’ll have more time to hang out, and J-Hope will win the race on Friday and everything will be _fine_. So you need to stop worrying. Okay?”

“Okay,” Jungkook agrees reluctantly, even though he has a bad feeling it’s going to be a bit more complicated than that.

 

***

 

“Hey,” Taehyung says with a small smile when he opens the door to see Jungkook dressed in a smart black suit, smiling excitedly back at him. “You look great,” he continues, a little breathless. “Obviously. You never look bad, but I mean – this is another level.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Are you going to let me in?”

“Shit, sorry.” He steps aside to let Jungkook inside and then closes the door.

“Where’s J-Hope?” Jungkook asks, looking around. “I wanted to thank him for letting us come over early. I know it must be annoying.”

Taehyung shrugs. “He doesn’t mind. He’s still getting ready, anyway. Rosé shouldn’t be here for another half an hour.”

Jungkook nods. “We have some time to ourselves then.”

“Uh huh,” Taehyung agrees excitedly, wiggling his eyebrows. “Want to go make out?”

Jungkook laughs. “Not particularly. Don’t you think that would be too obvious? Anyway, you’d smudge my lip gloss.”

Taehyung feels his eyes flit down to Jungkook’s lips at those words, and sure enough, they seem a bit pinker and shinier than usual. Well fuck. Tonight is going to be a long night.

“What if I just kiss your neck?” Taehyung suggests tentatively, because he really doesn’t know if he’ll be able to go the whole evening without _any_ kisses. “You like that, right?”

Jungkook hums contemplatively, hiding his smile. “I guess that would be acceptable.”

 

***

 

When the doorbell goes, J-Hope passes the living room and yells “She’s here!” to V and Jungkook. He doesn’t need to look at them to know that he doesn’t want to see whatever they’ve been doing.

When he opens the door, Rosé looks as stunning as ever. “Hey, beautiful,” he says before he can help himself, and grins when Rosé rolls her eyes. “You excited?”

Rosé shrugs. “I guess. Can I come in?”

J-Hope grins. “Maybe.” He closes the door behind her and gestures to the living room. “V and Jungkook are already here.”

Rosé nods, but when she walks in to see them sitting opposite each other on the sofa, looking very awkward in each other’s presence, she wonders whether it was really a good idea after all for them to go together. But she supposes there’s no turning back now.

“Hey,” Jungkook says nervously, and Rosé frowns.

“Why does your neck look wet?” she asks him in response.

Jungkook stares at her in what can only be perceived as alarm before finally settling for, “I dribbled.”

Rosé squints at him. “All down your neck?”

Jungkook gulps. “Yes.”

“Okay…” Rosé says awkwardly. Then she turns to J-Hope. “Shall we get going?”

Once they’re all sat in the truck, with J-Hope revving the engine and Rosé sat next to him with her earphones in, V smiles nervously at Jungkook from where they’re sat in the back seats. “You excited?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook smiles back, seeming equally as nervous. “Can we talk about boundaries for tonight, though? I want to know how far we’re taking this whole ‘date’ thing.”

V nods. “Sure.”

Jungkook takes a deep breath. “Okay. So. Can I hold your hand?”

“Of course,” V grins, reaching his hand out across the empty space between them to emphasise his point.

Jungkook takes his boyfriend’s hand, linking their fingers together with an excited smile as he tries to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. They’re really doing this.

“Okay, cool,” he says, trying to act a lot more relaxed and put-together than he feels. “Are we going to dance together? Like, even to slow songs?”

V shrugs. “Sure, if you want to.”

Jungkook’s smile grows. “Can I kiss you?”

V lets out a surprised laugh. “Jungkook. Seriously?”

Jungkook laughs too. “Hey, it was worth a try.”

Rosé turns around in her seat and raises an eyebrow at Jungkook as she says, “That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

Jungkook looks at her. “Huh?”

She stares back at him like he’s insane. “Asking to kiss him?”

Jungkook’s face goes pale. “You – heard that? I thought you were listening to music.”

Rosé frowns at him. “No? I’m just trying to drown out the sound of the engine. You really think I’d be that antisocial?”

Jungkook gulps, shaking his head mutely as he tries to remember what exactly he and V have said to each other since they’ve been in the car. Hopefully it’s all come across as ‘hey, we’re pretending to date tonight, how far can we go?’ but he can’t be too sure.

He feels V squeeze his hand gently and then let go.

“Can I turn on the radio?” J-Hope asks, interrupting the conversation, and Jungkook doesn’t think he’s ever been quite so grateful for J-Hope knowing about their relationship.

“Go for it,” V responds, his voice nonchalant, and they all move on.

 

***

 

Jungkook feels V freeze in place next to him when they reach the entrance, and Jungkook sighs, looking at him sadly. “You don’t have to hold my hand,” he says quietly.

V squeezes his hand tighter, not sure how to reply, because he doesn’t want to let go or let Jungkook down, but he’s also freaking out. What if people notice that they’re really together? What if people start asking him about it _tonight_? He wants a final evening of peace and enjoyment before everyone finds out and everything collapses around him.

Rosé turns around and glares at V. “Christ, V, stop being a homophobe and just fucking hold his hand. It’s not that hard.”

“I’m not a _homophobe,_ ” V glares back at her, holding Jungkook’s hand tighter as he walks purposefully through the double doors and into the venue.

The room is beautifully decorated, there’s no denying that. There are balloons in every corner, glitter all over the floor (V passively wonders whether Hani helped organise this), two tables full of food and drinks and a DJ booth on the far wall, right in front of an empty space that’s presumably the dance floor.

Jungkook looks around in awe, wondering how the school got all of this organised. There’s music playing softly in the background, people are already chatting excitedly to each other and the atmosphere is so _alive_ even at 8pm and –

And there are so many _people_. He gulps, instinctively squeezing V’s hand tighter.

V looks at him worriedly. “You okay?”

“I, uh – there’s a lot of people here,” Jungkook says with an embarrassed smile. He’s glad that Rosé and J-Hope seem to have disappeared somewhere, because he doesn’t need Rosé teasing him right now for being so shy and uncomfortable in a social situation like this. He already feels so tense that even such a small comment could potentially tip his emotions over the edge.

V smiles back at him gently. “Let’s go find the others.”

Soon enough they spot Hani, looking much fancier and more dressed up than usual as she talks excitedly with Jisoo and Lisa. But then Jisoo points in their direction and Hani turns around to look at them.

“Aw, you’re holding hands, that’s so cute!” Hani squeaks as they walk over, smiling at them fondly, and both Jungkook and V let out a relieved breath. Maybe this doesn’t have to be difficult.

“Yeah, well, we’re here together, aren’t we?” V says in response, giving Jungkook a shy smile, and Jungkook grins.

“Yeah. Yeah we are,” he agrees.

“You two are seriously fucking adorable,” Hani proclaims. “Have you _seen_ them?” she says insistently, turning to Lisa and Jisoo expectantly.

“I’m the one that pointed them out to you,” Jisoo laughs. “Anyway. Jungkook, V – you know Lisa…” And Jungkook can tell that she seems a bit awkward; almost like she’s seeking approval from them. He wonders whether she _knows_ that she and Lisa are basically on a date right now, or whether she’s just acting accordingly without realising.

“Certainly do,” V acknowledges with a polite smile. “Long time no see.”

Lisa raises an eyebrow at him. “We get the same bus. Every day.”

V rolls his eyes at her. “Okay, then long time no _talk_.”

Lisa huffs out a surprised laugh. “Still got the attitude, I see.”

V snickers. “Right back at you.”

“V, come help me find LE?” Hani asks as she puts an arm round his shoulders. “We’re meant to be here together and she’s just gone and fucking disappeared, it’s like she’s trying to avoid me or something.”

Rosé appears with J-Hope, a drink already in her hand as she quips, “Maybe she is.”

Hani laughs, and Jungkook does a double take because are those two actually getting along?

“Isn’t that her over there?” V asks, pointing out where LE appears to be getting hit on by someone else in their year. “We’d better go and save her.” He smiles at Jungkook apologetically. “I’ll come find you later?”

Jungkook grins, pleased that V is making an effort even in front of his friends. “Sure. I want to find Jimin, anyway.”

“Good,” Jisoo says emphatically as V and Hani leave, “because he’s been waiting for you to arrive since we got here. You too, Rosé.” She points to where Jimin and Suga are chatting together across the room. “He’s just over there. You guys should go say hi.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Rosé says snappily, but still she heads over towards Jimin, Jungkook following.

“You didn’t have to call him a homophobe, you know,” Jungkook says quietly to Rosé once they’re out of earshot from their friends.

Rosé frowns at the topic change, then shrugs. “It got him to hold your hand, right?”

“That’s why you did it?” Jungkook asks in surprise.

“I’m not mean for no reason,” Rosé responds.

Jungkook blinks at her.

“Okay, I can be mean,” Rosé snaps, “but there’s always a _reason_.”

Jungkook simply laughs.

“Kook!” Jimin says excitedly when he spots him, turning away from Suga to greet his best friend, and Jungkook’s smile widens.

“Chim Chim,” he says happily, accepting Jimin’s hug and holding onto him tightly. “You look really good. I like the hair.”

“That’s my boyfriend you’re flirting with,” Suga grumbles from beside Jimin.

“Thank you!” Jimin exclaims happily, grinning at Jungkook and ignoring Suga’s comment. He runs a hand through his freshly-dyed blonde hair. “Suga said it made me look like a pineapple.”

Rosé laughs. “It kind of does.”

Jimin ignores her. “You look great too, Kook! If I wasn’t dating someone already I would be swooning over you right now.”

Rosé snorts as Suga bristles. “This is going to be a fun night,” she comments, her voice flat.

But Jungkook simply smiles in response, because he has a feeling that this really _will_ be a fun night. And maybe – he _hopes_ , at least – he was worried for nothing.

 

***

 

LE watches V as he keeps checking his surroundings, looking around nervously. And as soon as Hani has left to greet some of her friends from French class, LE turns to him. “Relax, they’re not here. This isn’t exactly their kind of party.”

V exhales shakily. “You sure?” The last thing he wants is to be outed _tonight_. He wants to have this one night before everything changes. And yes, those douchebags agreed to the car race, but V has no guarantee that they won’t go back on their word. What’s stopping them from outing him right now?

“I’ve been keeping an eye out for them since we got here,” LE answers, her voice calm. “You know how they like to make a scene. If they were here, I would’ve noticed.”

V nods slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. That makes sense.”                    

“Relax,” LE repeats with a gentle smile. “Try to enjoy it, okay? For his sake as well,” she says, gesturing to where Jungkook and Jimin are stood a few feet away, chatting to each other excitedly.

V can’t help the small smile that appears on his face when Jungkook looks his way. He waves slightly, and Jungkook grins before turning back to his conversation with Jimin.

“He deserves to have a good time tonight,” V agrees.

LE raises an eyebrow. “So do you.”

Then Hani returns, grinning as she takes LE’s hands and begs her to dance.

“The music hasn’t even started yet,” LE groans.

“The DJ’s just about to put on the first track!” Hani protests. “I want to get a good spot on the dance floor before it starts. Come _on_.”

LE rolls her eyes but still lets herself get dragged away. “I’ll see you later, V,” she says as she leaves. “Don’t forget to have fun!”

V smiles at her and nods. And when the first song starts only seconds later, he walks over to Jungkook and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Want to dance?”

Jungkook’s eyes light up as he turns away from Jimin. “Sure!” he says happily. He then gives Jimin a shy smile. “I’ll catch up with you later?”

Jimin laughs. “Go have fun. I think I need to get Suga a bit more drunk before he’ll join me out there.” He then turns to V, looking at him with his sternest expression. “V. You’d better treat him well tonight.”

“Oh my God, Chim,” Jungkook groans. “Leave him alone.”

“I’m serious!” Jimin protests, but V has already taken Jungkook’s hand and dragged him away.

 

***

 

“I’m so happy,” Jungkook mumbles a little while later, as he and his boyfriend dance together. The night started off with some fast, upbeat songs to get the party started, but half an hour or so later they’re dancing to the first slow song of the night. Most of the people who were dancing together as friends left the dance floor when it came on. V and Jungkook are still here.

“Me too,” V replies honestly, hugging Jungkook closer to him. “Honestly, this is going so much better than I expected.”

Jungkook laughs. “Don’t speak too soon.”

“Really,” V says insistently, pulling away slightly so he can look Jungkook in the eyes. “Nobody even cares that we’re here together. I don’t know why I was so worried.” He caresses Jungkook’s cheek, not even bothering to check if anyone’s watching before he does it, and Jungkook’s heart soars. “This makes me think that we could really do this, you know? Be together. Maybe it doesn’t have to be hard.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook smiles softly. “I really hope so.”

“I’m going to tell my parents, you know,” V continues.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “You’ve been saying that for months.”

“I mean it,” V insists. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. If those guys end up outing me, and all my friends know before I tell them – I at least want my parents to find out from me. Before someone else says something about it.”

Jungkook hums. “I thought you were sure J-Hope would win the race, though?”

V smiles gently. “I know he _can_ win. But. What if he doesn’t? There’s a possibility we’ll lose. And I have to be okay with that.”

Jungkook sighs. “Let’s not think about that right now. Tonight is for _us_ , remember? Let’s just enjoy it.”

“Okay,” V says softly, holding Jungkook tighter.

 

***

 

It’s an hour or so later when the music stops and their head teacher walks over to the DJ table, holding the microphone. “I hope you’re all having a lovely time tonight.” A few people cheer, and V puts a hand around Jungkook’s waist and smiles at him softly. Jungkook thinks he knows what it means. It’s somewhere between _thank you_ and another three words that neither of them are ready to verbalise just yet.

“Now, as many of you have been waiting for, it’s time for the dance competition!” There are a few whoops from the crowd, and the teacher waits for them to stop before continuing, “But first, let me lay down some rules. No vulgar moves, no violence, no same-sex pairings –” V and Jungkook look at each other in alarm – “no groups of three or more and _no_ sabotaging other contestants. Any of these things will result in disqualification. Now, without further ado, find a partner and let’s start the competition!”

“What the fuck?” Jungkook mutters as the crowd around them disperses. “Why can’t they allow same-sex pairings? This isn’t the 1980s.”

V looks at him guiltily. “I have no idea. I swear I don’t remember that from last year – maybe I just blanked it out.” He gulps. “This is so _unfair_.” But then he pulls himself together, shaking his head like he’s trying to clear his thoughts. “Whatever. Never mind, let’s go sit down on the benches; we can just watch the others make fools of themselves.”

Jungkook frowns. “But you’ve been working towards this all year.”

“If I can’t dance with you, there’s no point,” V shrugs nonchalantly.

Jungkook sighs. “You’ve been dancing with me all night already.” He looks around determinedly, smiling hopefully when he spots Jisoo and Lisa. He waves them over – and it seems like Jisoo has the same idea as him.

“I kind of promised Lisa a dance competition,” she says to V and Jungkook. “So can we swap partners, just for the competition? I don’t want any of us to miss out.”

Jungkook nods eagerly. “Yeah, sure. Lisa, you’re semi-professional, right?”

“Uh, I guess?” Lisa says awkwardly.

“Great – you can dance with V,” he says, pushing her towards his boyfriend. He wants to give V the best possible chance of winning. “You good dancing with me, Chi Chu?”

“Only if you’re happy to be disqualified,” she giggles. “I don’t plan on taking this seriously.”

Jungkook grins. “That’s fine by me.” He’d much rather be disqualified straight away and get to watch his boyfriend killing the competition than take it seriously himself, in any case.

So they split apart, V giving Jungkook a secret smile as he and Lisa find a space on the dance floor, Jungkook and Jisoo not too far away from them. And, as expected, Jungkook and Jisoo get disqualified pretty soon – in his opinion, the judges are being a bit harsh, because the moonwalk is a _classic_ and he doesn’t know anyone else who’s tried to make it into a couples move, but okay.

Once they leave the dance floor, they find Namjoon and Jin sitting together on one of the nearby benches and go to join them. “Did either of you two dance?” Jungkook asks as they sit down.

Jin laughs. “No chance. Forget the ‘no same-sex pairings’ rule – the thing we have to watch out for with Namjoon is no _casualties._ ”

“I would have got us disqualified straight away,” Namjoon agrees sombrely. “But in my defence, it would have been _accidental_ violence.”

J-Hope and Rosé get disqualified not too long after Jungkook and Jisoo, and Jungkook doesn’t see what gets them disqualified but Jin assures him that he wouldn’t have wanted to.

“I swear, those two are the reason the teachers always have to give us that whole spiel about ‘no vulgar moves’,” Jisoo discloses. She watches as J-Hope and Rosé run out of the venue together, giggling about something as they make their escape, and Jisoo has a feeling she isn’t going to see either of them again for the rest of the night. But soon enough her attention returns to Lisa, and Jungkook’s attention returns to V. Their moves are much slicker than most of the other students and even the dance students don’t seem to be taking it as seriously as them. It’s obvious that they want to win.

It’s when the music changes to a more sensual song that Jungkook starts to feel a bit uncomfortable. “You can really tell that they used to date, huh?” Jisoo mumbles from beside him, and Jungkook nods. Naturally, V and Lisa are adapting their dance style to the music that’s playing, but Jungkook really wishes he didn’t have to watch his boyfriend dancing like this with his ex-girlfriend from across the room. They’re far too close, V’s hands far too low on Lisa’s hips, and the intense way they’re looking at each other feels far too real.

Too much time passes before the song changes again – something upbeat and fast-paced, and Lisa steps back, putting more distance between her and V. Jungkook feels relieved, and if Jisoo’s emotionally-drained expression is anything to go by then so does she. But the feeling doesn’t last for long because a few moments later, a couple of girls sit down on the bench a few feet away, just beside Namjoon, and Jungkook hears one of them say, “Is that V dancing with one of his ex-girlfriends?”

“Yeah. I wonder why they broke up. They obviously have real chemistry,” the other one replies, and Jungkook sees Jisoo stiffen out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, well, V breaks up with everyone sooner or later,” the first girl shrugs, as if they know anything about him. As if they have any _right_ to be discussing this in the first place.

“I heard he was in a serious relationship this year,” the girl’s friend responds, gossiping away like his _boyfriend_ isn’t right next to them. But how would they know?

“Yeah, I heard that too. And then when they broke up, he felt so down and pathetic that he actually agreed to come here with that emotionally-stunted Pink Lady.” Jungkook feels those words pierce into his heart like a knife as he sees Jin look in his direction, a worried expression on his face.

“Oh, you mean Jungkook, right? He’s in my Music class. He has the most _glaringly_ obvious crush on V and the personality of a potato,” she snorts, and Jungkook wonders if they have any idea that he’s sitting on the bench next to them. Maybe, without the tell-tale jacket, he isn’t recognisable at all. To them, a socially awkward Pink Lady is all he’ll ever be.

Jisoo grabs his hand, shocking him out of his thoughts – and uncharacteristically, he doesn’t try to shake her off. “You want to go get some drinks?” Jisoo says quietly, a small, reassuring smile on her face, and Jungkook nods.

As they walk away, the girls catch a glimpse of Jungkook and Jisoo’s faces and immediately shut up, their eyes widening as they stare at each other in alarm. Jungkook has a strong urge to make a cutting remark – to tell them that what they’re discussing is _none_ of their business and they should stop butting in where they don’t belong – but he doesn’t have the confidence. So he lets it go, walking with Jisoo to the drinks table and pouring himself some lemonade as Jisoo grabs herself some punch.

“They’d better win, after all this,” Jisoo mumbles as she continues watching Lisa dancing with V from their position by the drinks table.

 

***

 

They win.

Despite the knock to Jungkook’s confidence earlier, he feels insanely happy for his boyfriend. All his hard work from this past year has finally paid off. And to top it all off, _Jungkook_ is the one V comes to first, to tell him that he _won_ and to show him the trophy and to accept a massive hug in congratulations. Jungkook would’ve liked to kiss him, too, but besides the fact that they agreed on no kisses tonight, a crowd is starting to form around V and Jungkook’s never been one for crowds. So he gives V an encouraging smile before excusing himself and returning to his lemonade.

Jisoo, on the other hand, pushes through the crowd to get to Lisa and grins at her. “You won!” she exclaims joyfully.

“Yeah,” Lisa chuckles, amused by Jisoo’s excitement. She gestures to the half-empty cup of punch in Jisoo’s hands. “You having fun?” she teases.

“So much fun,” Jisoo giggles, sipping her punch as if to emphasise her point, and all Lisa can do is laugh along with her. Because this may be turning out to be a really _strange_ night, but Jisoo looks so stunning and Lisa feels so happy.

Once the crowd has calmed down a little and Jisoo has excused herself to top up her drink, Jimin walks over to Lisa and compliments her on winning the competition.

“Thanks,” Lisa says, a little distracted. She gestures to Jisoo, who’s dancing her way back to them. “She really can’t hold her alcohol, huh?”

Jimin smirks. “Not one bit. Didn’t she go to your birthday party, though? Surely you’ve seen her like this already.”

Lisa blushes when she remembers the party. If she concentrates hard enough, she can still feel the soft brush of Jisoo’s lips against her cheek. “Yeah, she was there, but I guess she didn’t drink that much. She was just tipsy.”

Jimin raises an eyebrow. “Oh, no, if she was tipsy, you definitely would have known.”

Lisa tries not to think too hard about the idea that Jisoo kissed her when she was mostly sober.

Jimin laughs as Jisoo approaches them, giggling at nothing in particular. “I guess she was worried about embarrassing herself in front of you and all your friends,” he ponders out loud.

Jisoo gapes at the accusation, apparently still sober enough to recognise that the comment is directed at her. “Excuse  _you_. I’m not an embarrassment.”

Lisa laughs. “Oh my God, you’re so far gone. How much did you have to drink?”

“Only a few cups,” Jisoo pouts, starting to sway to the music as a new song comes on and almost spilling her drink in the process.

“Careful,” Lisa mumbles, stepping closer to take the plastic cup of punch out of her hands.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Jisoo accuses.

“You’ll spill it,” Lisa giggles. She turns back to Jimin. “What will she do if I cut her off?”

Jimin shakes his head, a smirk playing at his lips. “Doesn’t work; she’ll just get more.” He leans towards Lisa, close enough that Jisoo won’t be able to hear his next words. “The only thing that seems to work is if you gradually take sips from her drink as well. She won’t notice as long as you don’t gulp it down, and it’s not a fool-proof plan but at least it stops her getting quite so drunk.”

Lisa nods. “Thanks for the tip.”

Jisoo grabs Lisa’s waist obliviously, giving her a happy, intoxicated smile. “Let’s dance!” she says, lowering her hands to Lisa’s hips as she tries to get Lisa to sway to the music with her.

“I _am_ dancing,” Lisa laughs. She takes a sip of Jisoo’s punch when Jisoo isn’t looking, and rationally she knows that it isn’t a good idea to get herself drunk as well, but all she can think is that it will help Jisoo stay a little more sober. She trusts Jisoo’s friends to help them out later, anyway, if it comes to that.

 

***

 

Once people have finished congratulating V, he looks around for Jungkook and finds him sitting on his own on one of the benches, looking a bit down. A cup of lemonade sits untouched next to him.

“What’s up?” V asks as he moves the lemonade out of the way and sits down.

Jungkook looks at him sadly. “Everyone thinks that you and Lisa should be together.”

Maybe he could’ve moved on from people’s comments if he hadn’t heard them repeatedly since he sat down; everyone talking about how V and Lisa winning the dance was some sort of _sign_ that they should get back together. As if they know anything about _anything_. But that doesn’t matter.

V frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“While you were dancing,” Jungkook explains. “They were saying they didn’t know why you broke up, that you had _chemistry,_ that you look perfect together. And all _I_ am is an awkward Pink Lady whose name people don’t even remember.”

V’s eyes widen, and he’s always been easy to rile up but how _dare_ anyone talk about Jungkook like that. “Where the fuck is this coming from? You’re _amazing_ , Jungkook, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Who the hell was it that said this to you? I’ll kill them.” He takes one of Jungkook’s hands and links their fingers together. “It’s nobody else’s decision who I date,” he says firmly. “That’s between you and me. I like _you._ I want _you._ Fuck them if they can’t accept that.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “ _You’re_ the one who seems to have the most trouble _accepting that_.”

V gulps, his anger turning into guilt. “You know I’m trying. I’m here with you now, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, and then you spent the whole competition dancing with your ex-girlfriend,” Jungkook spits.

“Because they wouldn’t let us dance together,” V says slowly, confused as to where this is going. “I told you we could just sit out, that I didn’t have to do the competition. You were the one who decided we should dance with Jisoo and Lisa. I’m upset about it too, you know.”

“ _You’re_ the one who danced with your ex,” Jungkook bites out.

V stares at him incredulously. “You’re the one who _decided_ I should! Come on, Jungkook, you can’t just get mad at me for having ex-girlfriends,” he says, frustrated. “You must have some too.”

“I’m _gay!_ ” Jungkook protests, his voice raised, and a couple of people turn around to stare at him.

V looks self-consciously at their hands, still linked together. He waits for the people nearby to turn back around before muttering, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Jungkook sighs tiredly. “Fine, okay. Maybe I’m being a little ridiculous,” he acknowledges awkwardly. “I just… I don’t _like_ seeing other people with you like that. Knowing that you used to go out with other people. I want you for myself.”

V smiles tentatively. “And I thought I was the clingy one.”

“Shut up,” Jungkook mumbles, pushing V’s shoulder lightly with his free hand, and V grins.

“Look, it’s been a long night for both of us,” V says comfortingly. “What do you say we get out of here?”

“But don’t you want to stay till the end?” Jungkook asks.

“Nah,” V shrugs. “The dance competition is over now – that’s the best bit. I mean, we can stay if you want –”

“No, I’d like to go out,” Jungkook insists. “I see all these people at school anyway.”

“You see me at school too,” V jokes, but Jungkook shakes his head.

“No, I see V. I want to see _you_.”

“Okay,” V smiles softly, before standing up decisively. “Right, so if you leave in about ten minutes, we can meet each other outside your house?”

“Why don’t we just leave now?” Jungkook asks as he stands up, confused.

“Well we can’t leave together,” V states as if it’s obvious.

“Why not?” Jungkook questions, completely perplexed.

“Look, Jungkook, you just yelled ‘I’m gay’ a few moments ago in front of everyone and I don’t exactly want to be seen walking out with you –”

“Hang on, so now you can’t even be seen with me? Just because I’m gay?” Jungkook asks disbelievingly.

“No, no, not _because_ you’re gay; because people _know_ you’re gay,” V struggles to explain.

“Oh, that’s miles better,” Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“Yeah,” V agrees. He then notices Jungkook’s sarcasm. “Wait, no –”

“If you can’t even be seen with me, this is getting fucking ridiculous,” Jungkook protests. “I mean, why are you even standing here with me now when people know I’m gay?”

“Will you be _quiet_ ,” V hushes, looking around nervously. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why am I _doing_ this?!” Jungkook asks incredulously. “What did _I_ do? Did _I_ just act like a homophobic prick, reminding his boyfriend why he had to leave his old school?”

V pales – he didn’t realise that’s what he sounded like, but when he thinks about it…

“Did I just grind against my ex-girlfriend in front of the whole school, right in front of my – well – well who even knows what I am to you? Cause I sure as hell don’t know anymore.”

“What the – I was not _grinding_ ,” V splutters disbelievingly. “Kookie, that’s not – it was just a _style_ , oh my God, it didn’t mean anything –”

At this point Lisa thinks it’s a great idea to arrive with the dance trophy, giving V a kiss on the cheek as congratulations. “Thought you’d like to hold it, seeing as we did win it together,” she says. She then turns to Jungkook, smiling brightly. “You having a good time tonight?”

Jungkook looks between the two of them, Lisa with her arm around V’s waist as she cuddles into him. He waits a second for V to move her away, but V seems just as frozen in this moment as Jungkook is himself.

“Not really,” Jungkook responds with a sad smile. “I actually think I’m going to head home now.” He’s out of the double doors before V can think of anything to say to get him to stay.

“What’s up with him?” Lisa asks, confused, and that’s all it takes for V to pull away from her and makes a beeline for the exit, intent on following Jungkook and fixing whatever the fuck just happened between them. But then the head teacher approaches him and explains how it’s time for him and Lisa to dance again in front of the whole school; a tradition for the competition winners at the end of the night.

“I really need to go sort something out –” V attempts, but the teacher directs him with a stern look.

“It will take 5 minutes for you to do this dance. Are you really sacrificing the tradition of this competition for your own gain, only half an hour after winning it?”

V glares at her in response, because he’d much rather sacrifice some stupid tradition than sacrifice his relationship with Jungkook. But then Lisa appears, taking his hand in hers, and he gets dragged towards the dance floor as their friends cheer for them excitedly. And V realises with stunned disappointment that there’s no easy way for him to get out of this, no easy way for him to leave right now, not when they’re surrounded by people. And if he was worried about people seeing him leave earlier, they would _definitely_ notice him leaving now.

He’ll just have to talk to Jungkook tomorrow and sort things out then.

 

***

 

Once the winners’ dance is over, Lisa leaves V’s side with a vaguely slurred, “Please excuse me, but I have something _very_ important to get back to.”

V knows she must be tipsy – it was clear enough from the way she danced with him just now; vaguely out of time and much too cheerfully, even for someone who _has_ just won a dance competition. But he most certainly isn’t expecting her to walk up to Jisoo and kiss her on the lips. Let alone for Jisoo to kiss her back just as eagerly, taking the trophy from Lisa’s hands and all but dropping it on the floor as she puts her hands on Lisa’s back and kisses her deeper.

Jimin grins at his shocked expression as he walks over. “They’ve been doing that on and off for a while now,” he explains. “I’m surprised you only just noticed.”

“She’s finally realised she’s a lesbian, then?” V asks interestedly.

Jimin laughs. “I guess we’ll see in the morning.”

And V forces out a smile of his own, wishing he had the confidence Jisoo had. To unapologetically be herself, at all times, even when she isn’t completely sure who that is yet.

“Congratulations on your victory!” Hani says excitedly as she walks over to V with Suga at her side.

“You happy to go now?” Suga asks Jimin, who nods eagerly. They both say a quick goodbye to V and Hani before walking away, and V can’t help but think that that should’ve been _him_ tonight. Him, leaving with Jungkook. And maybe it’s too soon to tell right now, but maybe he’s ruined everything.

“You know, you and Lisa look really good together,” Hani says happily, bringing V’s attention back to the conversation.

“Well we’re _not_ together,” V says angrily, determinedly tearing his jealous gaze away from Jimin and Suga as Hani looks at him in confusion.

“Duh. She’s been drooling over Jisoo all night. Can you not see them making out right now? I just meant that your dancing styles complemented each other.”

“Oh,” V says quietly. “Right.”

Hani stares at him. “Are you okay?”

V shakes his head. “I’m really tired. I think I’d better head home.”

Hani’s stare turns into a squint, like she’s trying to work him out. “I thought you were staying round J-Hope’s tonight. You said there wouldn’t be any buses home because it’s so late.”

“Shit,” V mutters under his breath, because _yes_ , that’s what he told Hani, but the actual plan was for him to stay with Jungkook. For them to walk home together, maybe, after having the best night out – and maybe he pinned too much hope on how tonight would turn out, but it definitely wasn’t meant to end like _this._ With him and Jungkook fighting, _again_ , over the same problem that’s been getting in their way ever since they started seeing each other.

V knows it’s not really about what other people think about him anymore. Or at least it _can’t_ be. It can’t continue to be about that, not when his insecurities mean risking losing Jungkook for good. If V had just got his head out of his own arse for two seconds and stopped panicking about being _judged_ for something he can’t control, he could’ve left with Jungkook after winning the competition and he wouldn’t be feeling so shit right now.

Or so stranded. There’s that too.

“I – uh,” V says nervously, aware that Hani is still waiting for a response. He could try and contact J-Hope to see if he could _actually_ stay round his tonight, but he’s pretty sure he saw J-Hope leave earlier with Rosé, and – “He left earlier with Rosé, I saw them go,” V says, improvising. “I doubt I’ll be welcome there tonight. But… yeah, you’re right. I definitely can’t get home.”

“Hey, cheer up,” Hani says with a smile, although she seems worried about him. He wouldn’t usually look so freaked out over a problem that’s so easy to solve. “You can stay round mine tonight, alright? LE was going to sleep over anyway. We can all stay up and drink together, it’ll be fun.”

She and LE were actually planning on heading to a couple of clubs after the event finished, but she strongly doubts V would be up to that right now. She doesn’t know what’s wrong; maybe just a little too much alcohol alongside a little too much dancing, but he’s definitely looking worse for wear.

V gulps. “You sure?”

“Yeah, course,” she says gently. “I’ll go find LE and then we can head home.”

 

***

 

“Did something happen tonight?” LE asks him once they’re at Hani’s house, Hani having disappeared to find some crappy films and more alcohol.

“Oh, something _happened_ ,” V sighs, staring at his phone. At the texts he’s sent to Jungkook tonight.

**jungkook can we talk about this**

**I don’t want to fight with you**

**I’m staying at hani’s tonight cause I get the feeling you don’t want to see me right now but**

**I didn’t mean to make you upset**

**I swear I would never do anything like that deliberately**

**please talk to me**

**I’m so sorry**

**kookie please**

At the crappy “ _seen 23:04_ ” message underneath, reminding V of just how much he’s screwed up.

“Is it Jungkook?” LE asks anxiously. “I saw him leave earlier. I figured you would go with him.”

V laughs humourlessly. “Yeah. So did he. I guess that’s the problem.” He locks his phone, throwing it across the room with far too much force. “I guess _I’m_ just the biggest fucking _problem_ , huh?”

LE stares at him in alarm. “V –”

“Who wants alcohol?” Hani interrupts as she walks back into the room with a big smile, a bottle of spirits in her hand and some rom-coms in the other.

So V reaches out for the bottle, removes the lid and takes a sip. And maybe his entire problem, this whole time, has been his tendency to overthink. So, just for tonight, he resolves not to think about anything at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry :(((( but at least lisoo happened, right? right???
> 
> tell me how much you hate me in the comments lmao
> 
> p.s. yes fake love is great but can we take a second to appreciate the beautiful ballad that is the truth untold and also anpanman is lit ok I’m out


	38. my head is saying ‘fool forget him’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the aftermath of the school dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is my summary too dramatic
> 
> you may have noticed that I’ve updated the total number of chapters. I’m pretty confident now that there will be 45 in total (including the epilogue). I can’t believe it’s all coming together!
> 
> this chapter has a decent amount of angst, but it is important for the plot so please don’t hate me too much eek

 

Saturday morning brings two main things to Taehyung – the first being a well-deserved hangover, but the second being a moment of clarity. He doesn’t text Jungkook today. Jungkook will talk to him when he’s ready.

 

***

 

Jimin arrives at Jungkook’s house on Saturday, just to hang out and watch TV together, and at first Jungkook is hopeful that it will help distract him from his thoughts. But he can’t help feeling mopey after everything that happened last night, no matter what stupid TV programme comes on, and eventually Jimin asks. “Are you okay?” he says hesitantly. “You’re acting hungover, but I know you don’t drink.”

Jungkook frowns. “How do you act hungover?”

Jimin shrugs. “Being quieter than usual. Not so talkative. Looking like you just want to eat a loaf of bread and go to bed.”

Jungkook smiles at the explanation. “I’m never loud or talkative, anyway. And I always want to eat bread and sleep.”

“I guess,” Jimin agrees. To Jungkook’s relief, the ad break finishes before Jimin can say any more, and they divert their attention back towards the TV.

“Do you think Samantha is going to make it through the makeup training in the end?” Jimin asks after a few minutes of watching the programme in silence. “She looks like she’s much more interested in hairdressing. Look, that customer – Josephine, is it? – keeps looking at Samantha like she wishes _she_ was doing her hair instead of Bella.”

Jungkook hums disinterestedly.

Jimin frowns at him. “You know, we don’t have to watch this if you’d rather do something else.”

Jungkook blinks, coming out of his thoughts, and he turns to Jimin apprehensively. “Do you ever feel like you’ve worked so hard for something, and suddenly you’re not sure if it was worth all the effort you put in?”

Jimin’s frown becomes more prominent. “I don’t think Bella’s _that_ bad at hair styling. Samantha just has more natural _flair._ ”

Jungkook stares at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Jimin stares back. “What are _you_ talking about?”

Jungkook sighs. “I was just asking you a question. Never mind.”

“Well,” Jimin says as he thinks it through. “I guess had that feeling with beauty school. I still kept trying, because it was what I wanted… but I guess it wasn’t worth all that effort in the end,” he admits. “No matter how much work I put in, I couldn’t change the fact that beauty school wasn’t right for me.”

Jungkook hums, inwardly questioning how similar Jimin’s situation is to his own situation with Taehyung. “It took you a while to figure that out, too,” he says pensively. “Was it still good while it lasted? Like, do you look back on it fondly?”

Jimin smiles slightly. “No, not really. It was too difficult. I never enjoyed it as much as I expected to.”

Jungkook sighs. That isn’t at all how he feels about Taehyung. “What would you have done if you did enjoy it?” he questions. “If you really liked it, but it also took too much energy out of you and you started to get tired with the situation?”

“I don’t know,” Jimin says thoughtfully. “I suppose it depends whether I felt the happiness I got from it was worth all the energy it took out of me. If the benefits outweighed the difficulties I had.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “Can’t you give me any specific advice?”

Jimin laughs lightly. “I can’t give you specific advice unless you give me a specific scenario. What’s this about, anyway?” he asks gently, ruffling Jungkook’s hair.

Jungkook shies away from his touch. “Just exams. I mean, they took a lot out of me, and it doesn’t really feel like I’m going to get much in return.”

Jimin looks at him sceptically, and for a second Jungkook thinks that Jimin can see right through him, but then Jimin is smiling and saying, “Hey, at least they’re over now. You don’t have to worry about any more exams until next year. Meanwhile, I’m just starting mine in a couple of weeks. Consider yourself lucky.”

Jungkook chuckles. “If you insist.”

Maybe Jimin has a point. Even if it’s too hard to continue; even if the benefits don’t outweigh the difficulties anymore, Jungkook feels lucky to have had a chance to get to know Taehyung.

 

***

 

“Happy Leaver’s Party!” Hani says excitedly when she opens the door to V. “How have you been?”

“Since yesterday?” V asks flatly, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh huh!” Hani smiles.

“Not really much different,” he answers honestly. He doesn’t notice how Hani’s smile dims a little. She could tell that something had happened to make V upset, and perhaps ignorantly, she hoped that he would be feeling a little better today. But apparently not.

“Let’s get you some alcohol,” she suggests, grabbing his hand and leading him through to the living room, where most of the others are already sat around the room, choosing their drinks for the evening.

“Why did we decide to do this again?” Jisoo groans as she looks regretfully at the drinks table. “I feel like I’m still hungover from Friday.”

“So drink more,” Suga says without preamble, pouring her a glass of rum and coke without checking what she actually wants. He holds out the glass to her as he explains, “Hair of the dog.”

“I’m allergic to dogs,” Jisoo argues.

Jin frowns at her. “I swear you _had_ a dog when you were younger.”

“And that’s how I know I’m allergic to dogs!” Jisoo protests with a pout.

“Just drink it, oh my God,” LE mutters, taking the glass from Suga and shoving it into her hands.

“I’m going to regret this,” Jisoo announces ruefully before taking a sip.

“Can someone remind me why we weren’t allowed to invite Rosé and Jungkook?” Jimin asks as he looks around the room sadly. “It feels like something’s missing.” V can’t help but agree.

“Because it’s a _Leaver’s_ Party,” Hani explains exasperatedly as she shoves a cup of vodka and coke into V’s hands. “They still have another year left of school. We can’t invite them if they’re not _leaving_ yet.”

“Anyone else would’ve invited them anyway,” J-Hope points out.

“And that’s why you weren’t allowed to host,” Hani combats. “If we’re going to celebrate the end of our time at school, we have to do it properly.”

“I feel like we’re going to get nowhere with this conversation,” Jin comments idly.

Jimin mumbles a small sound of agreement. “I wonder how they’re getting on, anyway. Jungkook seemed kind of upset when I met up with him yesterday.”

V takes a big gulp of his vodka.

 

***

 

“Hey Kook,” Rosé says when she answers the door, stepping aside to make room for him in the hallway. “Take off your shoes. Your lemonade is in the living room.”

Jungkook quickly takes off his shoes and follows after her, plopping down onto the sofa while Rosé grabs some blankets from the corner of the room.

“How are you doing, by the way?” Rosé asks him as she throws him a blanket. “Jimin mentioned you were in a bad mood yesterday.”

Jungkook frowns. “Maybe Jimin should mind his own business.”

Rosé glances at him. “Since when have you had a problem with Jimin?”

“Since when has it been _your_ concern if I’m in a bad mood?” Jungkook combats.

Rosé rolls her eyes. “It’s my _concern_ if you’re going to be like this all night,” she points out.

And then Jungkook feels guilty, because it isn’t Rosé’s fault if he’s going through a tough time. Maybe it isn’t anybody’s fault. Maybe it’s just how it is.

“Sorry – I…” Jungkook trails off uncertainly. “Thanks for caring, I guess,” he says awkwardly. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

Rosé looks at him calculatingly, but then she shrugs, asking him if he’s up for some kind of crappy movie marathon tonight, and the atmosphere relaxes. She gestures to the pile of DVDs on the coffee table, next to their pile of snacks for the night, and says, “Go ahead and pick the one you think you’d hate the least. I’m going to get a drink.”

Jungkook snorts. “You’re selling it so well.” Still, he flicks through the various films, reading over the summaries and trying to find one that doesn’t include any sort of love storyline. Eventually he settles on a zombie apocalypse film, which he honestly expects to be more amusing than scary, but at least it shouldn’t have too much romance in there. If any two people do fall in love, usually one of them is dead by the end.

Rosé laughs when she walks back into the room and sees the opening credits playing on the screen. “You know this is going to be more of a comedy than a horror film, right?” she asks as she sits down.

Jungkook isn’t paying attention, too focused on the glass of diet coke in her hand. “Aren’t you drinking tonight?” he asks in surprise.

Rosé shrugs. “Nah, I thought it would be a bit weird. Seeing as you don’t drink, and all.”

“I wouldn’t have minded,” Jungkook insists. “You’re always the one who says parties aren’t fun without alcohol.”

Rosé scoffs. “We’re sat at home watching crappy films with microwave popcorn and cold chicken nuggets, and you’re my only guest. I’m not exactly setting myself up to have a fun evening, am I?”

Jungkook can’t help but laugh. “I guess not.”

 

***

 

“Why do the two people in love always get happy endings?” Jungkook protests, pointing the TV remote at the screen indignantly. “It’s so fucking _unrealistic._ Would it kill to have two people in a film that _don’t_ end up together? I only picked it because I thought there wouldn’t be any romance.”

Rosé laughs. “You wanted them to end up dead?”

“I’m just saying,” Jungkook continues with a scowl. “It’s not so easy for everyone else.”

“You know, you’ve been acting pretty off tonight,” Rosé comments. “Where’s all this saltiness about unhappy endings coming from? Did something happen with you?”

Jungkook sighs as he feels himself deflate, trying not to let his emotions show even though he knows he’s failing.

“I just – wish we hadn’t gone together,” he admits after a few seconds of silence. It sounds spiteful, but he’s just upset. Angry. Not so much with Taehyung anymore; just the situation. “I wish I hadn’t gone at all, actually,” he adds with a humourless chuckle.

Rosé frowns at him in confusion, but then her expression changes to one of realisation; perhaps surprise. “You mean the dance? With V?”

At Jungkook’s silence, she shakes her head vehemently.

“Come on, Kook, you don’t need to listen to what anyone has to say about you,” Rosé says firmly, misunderstanding the reason behind his statement.

He doesn’t correct her.

“You’re stronger than that,” she continues. “They don’t know anything about you – they don’t know anything about _either_ of us. They’re all fuckheads who have nothing better to do than slag the popular kids off, okay?”

Jungkook smiles weakly. “I’m not sure I’d really call myself popular. You guys didn’t even want me in your friend group in the first place.”

Rosé looks at him in surprise. “You remember that?” She watches as Jungkook nods, frowning to herself. “Huh. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I mean – I’m not great with change, and I liked my friends before, so yeah I was hesitant. But there’s nothing wrong with you.”

Jungkook squints at her, trying to decipher her words. “Thanks?” he says tentatively.

Rosé laughs, sharp and sudden. “You’re welcome. Trust me, that’s a compliment.”

“Okay,” Jungkook says through a chuckle. A real one this time.

“People are always going to be dicks,” Rosé says solemnly. “But we have each other, right? I’ll stick with you and ward off anyone who’ll try and make fun of you just because you have a crush on V. Like basically everyone else in the school, by the way, but sure, apparently _you’re_ the weird one. I hate people _._ ”

Jungkook smiles. “Why do you care so much?”

Rosé shrugs, feigning nonchalance. “Safety in numbers, right?”

And Jungkook remembers with sudden clarity, how those girls making fun of Rosé did so _knowing_ that she could hear what they were saying. How they shut up as soon as Jungkook showed up. And Jungkook thinks he understands.

“We’ll stick together,” Jungkook agrees, his voice a little more serious than before.

Rosé smiles gratefully. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Jungkook says easily, because he knows that she doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. If she can respect his wishes, then he can respect hers too. And they move on.

 

***

 

“Never have I ever… dropped out of beauty school,” Suga says with a smirk, and Jimin rolls his eyes as the others laugh at him.

“Is there a reason you keep targeting me?” Jimin complains as he brings the cup to his lips.

“You’re cute when you’re drunk,” Suga replies, looking awfully pleased with himself.

“I’m cute all the time,” Jimin argues. “Not just when I’m drunk.”

“You’re also more argumentative when you’re drunk,” Jin laughs.

“V, why did you drink?” Hani asks, poking him. “ _You_ didn’t drop out of beauty school.”

V looks back at her blankly. “Hmm?” He then takes another sip of his drink, apparently giving zero shits about the rules of the game.

“Anyway – my turn,” Jin says decisively. “Never have I ever climbed out of a window to stop my blind date from showing me his sticker collection.”

Everybody laughs, drowning out Jisoo’s voice as she protests, “That was _one time_.” She then stares in shock when she sees Hani surreptitiously sipping her tequila. “What the fuck, seriously, Hani?”

“Thanks for pointing it out,” she grumbles as everyone turns to look at her in surprise. She puts her cup back down with more force than necessary and proclaims, “We’re the most unlucky people with dating, I swear.”

“Was it the same guy?” V asks interestedly as he finishes off his drink. He goes to get a refill, then decides against it and simply brings back the half-full bottle of vodka.

“Probably,” Hani mutters. “How many people do you know that would try to show someone their sticker collection on the first date?”

“I’m not sure the ‘first date’ part is really essential to that question,” Suga points out.

Hani sighs laboriously. “Dating sucks. At least I have a bad-at-dating buddy,” she adds, gesturing to Jisoo.

“Don’t forget what happened on Friday,” Jin reminds her with a wink. “I think you’re on your own now.”

“What happened on Friday?” Jisoo asks interestedly, and the others look at her in confusion. “Fine, just ignore me,” she scoffs when nobody answers, moving on easily. “Whatever. Never have I ever… accidentally dyed my hair bright orange,” she says triumphantly.

Jimin snorts, taking a sip of his drink. “Well, if we’re targeting people – never have I ever kissed a girl,” he smirks. A few people drink, but Jimin frowns when Jisoo’s cup remains at her side. “Why aren’t you drinking, Chi Chu?”

“Why would I?” Jisoo responds.

“You and Lisa,” LE reminds her.

Jisoo is still smiling, but she seems confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember?” Jin laughs. “You two were all over each other on Friday.”

Jisoo giggles despite herself. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not into girls?”

Suga frowns. “Then what were you doing kissing one?”

Jisoo stares at him, the bright smile on her face now looking much more panicked. “Huh?”

“You two were making out for basically the whole night after the competition ended,” Hani giggles.

J-Hope looks around at his friends in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” LE answers. “I would say it’s a shame you and your girlfriend missed out on Jisoo’s sexuality crisis, but it looks like she’s still just as oblivious.”

Jisoo’s eyes have gone extremely wide. “We were kissing? But – but I already told her I was straight. Why would she do that?”

“ _You’re_ the one that kissed _her_ , Chi Chu,” Jimin beams. “Anyway, she was pretty tipsy by that point too.”

“Does Rosé know?” Jisoo continues, her voice urgent.

“I doubt it. We left before this happened, from the sounds of it,” J-Hope answers.

“Isn’t she with Jungkook tonight, though?” Jin points out. “He’s probably already told her.”

“I can ring him and tell him to keep quiet!” Jisoo says decisively, already fiddling with her phone to find Jungkook’s contact details.

V smiles slightly at the thought. Ringing Jungkook sounds like a really good idea right now.

But then again – “It’s almost 2am,” V points out. “He won’t still be there by now.”

“I assumed he was staying over,” Jimin frowns.

V shakes his head. “He doesn’t like staying over at people’s houses, especially if it’s the first time he’s been there. He’ll definitely go back home.”

Jin stares at him. “How would you know that?”

“Uh – right,” V coughs awkwardly. “I guess I don’t. I’m just guessing.” He sips at his vodka.

Jisoo hums contemplatively. “Maybe I’ll ring Rosé and ask her whether she knows that me and Lisa kissed each other.”

Suga frowns at her. “Why would you do that?”

“Because if she says no, then I can just forget about it and move on,” Jisoo explains, a pleased smile on her face.

LE laughs. “When do you think she’ll realise…?” she says quietly, looking around at her friends in amusement.

“Give it a minute,” Jimin responds.

“Wait, _no_ ,” Jisoo gasps. “ _Then_ she might put two and two together and work out why I’m asking.”

Jin snorts.

“Sometimes I wonder if we should just keep you drunk all the time,” Hani comments. “It’s extremely entertaining.”

Jisoo pouts. “Don’t make fun of me.”

“I think you should take it as a compliment,” J-Hope suggests gently.

“Is no one going to talk about how Hani and LE also drank when Jimin asked who’d kissed a girl?” Suga comments.

J-Hope looks at them in surprise. “Wait, you did?”

“Not deliberately,” LE says pointedly.

“You didn’t drink deliberately?” Jisoo frowns.

LE rolls her eyes. “Of course I _drank_ deliberately. I meant I didn’t kiss a _girl_ deliberately,” she says, shooting a glare at Hani.

Hani cackles. “You know how people are always flirting with her and she relies on us to help her escape? One time this guy was particularly persistent, so I walked over to her and planted one on her, right on the lips.”

LE grimaces at the memory. “At least he left me alone after that.”

Suga snorts. “Why does this not surprise me.”

“Are you sure you’re straight, Hani?” Jimin laughs.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure,” Hani answers. “It was just to help out a friend. I’m not Jisoo.”

Jisoo glares at her. “Why did we stop playing, anyway?” she grumbles. “Whose turn is it?”

Jimin frowns. “Well, I’ve had my go, so…” He turns to the spot next to him, only to discover that it’s now vacant. “Wait, where did V go?”

“He probably just went to the toilet or something,” Suga shrugs.

“Are you sure? He’s really drunk tonight. More than usual,” Hani points out. She looks uncharacteristically worried. “Did anyone see him leave?”

Everybody shakes their heads, and J-Hope sighs, immediately sobering up a little. “I’ll go and find him.”

 

***

 

Taehyung searches the house for an empty space. He isn’t sure exactly where he ends up, but he sits down on the bed all the same and gets out his phone, dialling a familiar number. It rings for longer than usual, Taehyung observes passively, but soon enough he hears his favourite voice answering, “Hello?” and Taehyung breathes a sigh of relief.

“Jungkook,” he murmurs, feeling a soft smile paint itself across his face.

“Taehyung… why are you ringing me?” Jungkook asks slowly, and Taehyung’s smile disappears in an instant.

The alcohol may be able to numb his pain, but it can’t fix his and Jungkook’s relationship.

“I… I just wanted to talk to you,” Taehyung admits quietly.

“Aren’t you at the party?” Jungkook responds.

“Yeah. I wish I was with you instead, though.” Taehyung smiles at the thought of being wrapped in Jungkook’s arms, so warm and soft and inviting. “It’s cold here without you,” he says contemplatively.

“How much have you had to drink?” Jungkook questions, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“Maybe a little too much,” Taehyung admits, his smile widening. “I still have some vodka left, do you want some?” He holds out the bottle in his hand until he remembers that of _course_ Jungkook wouldn’t want vodka. “Oh, never mind, I forgot you don’t drink,” he apologises seriously.

“Because _that’s_ the problem with your offer,” Jungkook deadpans. He sighs tiredly. “Tae, why are you ringing me?”

“Because I miss you,” Taehyung responds simply. There’s silence on the other end of the line and Taehyung frowns. “You don’t want to talk to me, do you? You don’t miss me like I miss you,” he deduces, disappointed by the revelation.

“You’re drunk,” Jungkook responds, which Taehyung thinks is weird because that wasn’t his question.

“I know,” Taehyung states, confusion lacing his tone. “But I know _you_ don’t drink, so I won’t share my alcohol with you. But,” he says excitedly, “if you did want to try any alcohol ever, you should have a strawberry daiquiri! You might like it because it’s red. Hey, Jungkook,” he says suddenly. “You know how we painted the truck red? I did that for you. I thought you’d like it better if it was your favourite colour.”

On the other end of the line, Jungkook gulps, trying not to get emotional. He never realised that was the reason for the truck being red. And sure, Taehyung may be drunk and slurring his words and he probably has no idea what he’s saying – but _God_ would Jungkook be lying if he said he didn’t miss him too.

At Jungkook’s silence, Taehyung continues talking rapidly. “Jungkook, I know you don’t want to talk to me, and I’m worried you’re going to hang up on me so I need to say this quickly before you do. I fucked up, okay? Don’t say anything; I wouldn’t forgive me either.” He looks at his phone sadly. “I got so mad at that prick who outed you and then I acted just as bad. I never meant to do that to you.”

Jungkook sighs tiredly. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he says softly. “You’re nothing like him. You didn’t really do anything wrong and I… I may have overreacted.” He isn’t completely sure whether he’s lying or telling the truth; all he knows is that he doesn’t like Taehyung being upset.

“You didn’t overreact,” Taehyung says, shaking his head vehemently and making himself slightly dizzy in the process. “I’m never embarrassed to be seen with you, I swear. I’m just… _scared_. Fuck, I’m so scared.” Taehyung’s voice sounds exhausted and Jungkook clutches his phone tighter, trying to dispel the guilt he feels at what happened.

“There’s nothing to be scared of,” Jungkook reassures him gently. He takes a deep breath, willing himself to say the words that he knows will help Taehyung, even though they’ll break his own heart. “We’re not together anymore. There’s nothing you have to hide – so now you can wait for the right moment and come out whenever you’re ready.” Jungkook looks down at the floor, hiding his pained expression from view even though he’s in his room alone. “You’re right – I shouldn’t have tried to pressure you into telling people.”

“No,” Taehyung gasps and Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise. “No, Jungkook, don’t say that,” Taehyung says desperately. “Please don’t go. Don’t leave me – I swear to God. I’ve ruined _everything_.”

“Taehyung…” Jungkook attempts, but Taehyung cuts him off.

“No, Kookie – _no_. I – I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry… I miss you, _God_ I’m sorry –”

“Taehyung, stop –”

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung repeats, unable at this point to say anything else. He takes another swig from the vodka bottle and winces as the alcohol burns his throat on its way down. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Taehyung looks up at the sound of a door opening and sees J-Hope stood in the doorway, concern all over his face.

“V, what are you doing here? You just disappeared without saying anything.” He then notices the bottle of vodka in V’s hand and his eyes widen. He walks over to his best friend urgently, snatching the vodka from him and confiscating V’s phone with his other hand. He looks at the caller ID to see Jungkook’s name written across the screen, which is strange because V usually looks like he’s overly happy and excitable when he’s on the phone to Jungkook… He’s never like _this_.

“Hello?” J-Hope says cautiously, holding the phone to his ear. “Sorry about him. He’s very drunk and probably has no clue what he’s doing.”

“I know,” Jungkook replies sadly.

“Tell him I’m sorry,” V says from the sofa.

J-Hope frowns at his best friend, noting how uncharacteristically upset both of them sound. “I think he already got the message the first five times.” He wants to question what’s happening, but V is in desperate need of some assistance right now, so he stores the observation away in his brain, making a note to come back to it later. He lifts the phone back up to his ear. “I need to sort him out and put him to bed, so I’m going to hang up now. Did you want to say goodbye first?”

“No, that’s okay,” Jungkook responds quietly. “Just – look after him.”

“I will,” J-Hope says, trying to ignore the way how Jungkook’s words sound incredibly final. He hangs up the phone and looks at V sternly. “You’re going to drink some water, take two paracetamol and then go to sleep, got it?”

“Okay,” V relents, hauling himself off the bed into a standing position and almost immediately falling over.

“You’re in a bit of a state, aren’t you?” J-Hope mumbles as he grabs V’s arm and helps him up.

“States are in America,” V mumbles, practically incoherently. “I’m in a bit of a _town_.”

“Okay,” J-Hope sighs, because he knows that fighting V on this right now will be fruitless. He tucks V into bed and instructs him to stay awake until he gets back with some water and some painkillers, but he has a bad feeling that it’s going to take a lot more than that to make V feel better.

 

***

 

V doesn’t want to be alone on Monday. He wakes up with a piercing headache – even worse than the one he had on Saturday, since he never quite recovered from that hangover before drinking more last night – but he doesn’t want to be alone, so when Hani announces that she and LE are going shopping (much to LE’s disapproval), V asks if he can tag along.

That’s how he finds himself sat in a café eating a breakfast roll, while he waits for LE and Hani to finish getting their free makeovers from the beauty counter in the shop next door. He’s watching the entrance so that he’ll spot them when they come in, but when he only has a few bites still to go he sees someone else walk in that he recognises, and he feels his breath catch in his throat.

Jungkook doesn’t seem to notice him, simply walking up to the counter and ordering a drink. And – and something registers in his mind; some sort of memory from last night, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. Taehyung is torn between hiding and going over to talk to him, but he doesn’t get the opportunity to decide before Hani and LE are entering the café, making their way over to him.

“How do I look?” Hani says excitedly once they reach his table, putting her face far too close to his own.

“Better than this morning,” V laughs. “Less hungover.”

Hani shrugs, standing up straight again. “That’s as good as I could hope for, I guess.”

LE gestures to V’s plate. “You almost ready to go?”

V nods, picking up his breakfast roll. “Ready when you are.”

He’s hoping for a lucky escape, but on their way out Hani catches sight of Jungkook and waves excitedly at him. “Hey, Kook!” she calls out, walking over. LE looks at V apprehensively, then follows Hani, V trailing behind her. When he makes eye contact with Jungkook he feels it trigger a memory of – a phone call? Is that what it was?

“What are you up to?” Hani asks him.

“Oh, just –” Jungkook says awkwardly, turning his attention back to Hani. “Waiting for my strawberry milkshake.”

“But you always get vanilla,” V says before he thinks it through.

Jungkook stares at him. “People change.”

LE looks between them uncertainly before grabbing Hani’s arm. “I just realised, I think I left my purse at the makeup counter,” she says quickly.

“Oh, we’d better go back and get it,” Hani responds, already walking away. “Good to see you, Kook! We’ll meet you outside, V?”

“Yeah, sure,” V answers, watching as Hani and LE go out of his sight before he turns back to Jungkook, looking at him curiously. “Jungkook – did I ring you last night?”

“Er… yeah,” Jungkook replies, fidgeting under Taehyung’s gaze.

“What did I say?” Taehyung asks, frowning in thought.

Jungkook smiles noncommittally as he accepts his drink from the barista. “Nothing of importance, really. You just said you painted the truck red for me.”

“Oh,” Taehyung replies, his voice small. “I – I never meant… I mean, I was drunk, I wasn’t really thinking –”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook says gently. He smiles again, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I should go. Take care of yourself, okay?” He walks away without waiting for a response.

“You too,” Taehyung says quietly to Jungkook’s retreating figure.

 

***

 

V storms through Hoseok’s front door as soon as it’s open and charges into the living room, where he starts pacing agitatedly. Hoseok follows him through to the living room warily and raises his eyebrows. “Good to see you, too.”

V stops pacing and turns to look at Hoseok, his expression distraught. “I _think_ – we broke up.” He falls onto the sofa dramatically, hiding his face in a cushion.

“I figured as much,” Hoseok sighs as he sits down opposite V.

V frowns, peeking out from behind the cushion to direct a confused look at Hoseok. “How did you know? _I_ hardly know.”

“You rang him last night at the party, remember? I know you like calling him, but you looked really upset and then when I confiscated your phone and asked Jungkook if he wanted to say goodbye, he said no.” He looks at V sympathetically. “I hoped it was just a fight.”

“You were there for that conversation?” V asks, his eyes wide with anticipation. He still doesn’t remember what he said to Jungkook and he could really do with some more information.

“I only walked in at the end,” Hoseok explains. “Do you not remember it at all?”

“No, just that it happened,” V says sadly. “Did you hear anything?”

“Not much,” Hoseok responds apologetically. “Only you saying ‘I’m so sorry’ over and over again like a mantra.”

“Oh, God,” V complains. “No wonder he was so weird with me this afternoon. I’m such an idiot.”

“Yeah, you are,” Hoseok responds.

V looks at him indignantly. “Hello? I’m upset here.”

“Seriously, V, you need to get a hold of yourself,” Hoseok continues unsympathetically. “You’re being _so_ stupid.”

“What are you talking about?” he pouts. “I’ve broken up with someone I really care about. It’s normal for me to be upset.”

Hoseok rolls his eyes. “ _That’s_ what I’m talking about. You’re head over heels for him, it’s completely obvious. So apologise.” V opens his mouth to protest and Hoseok holds up a hand to stop him. “And _not_ drunk on the phone. Do it properly.”

V sighs. “It’s not that simple. I can’t just say I’m sorry. I _really_ upset him.”

“Then say you’re _really_ sorry,” Hoseok says, rolling his eyes. “Seriously V, get out of your own head for a second and _think_ about it. Hasn’t it occurred to you that he’s probably unhappy about the breakup as well?”

V frowns. “Have you spoken to him?”

“No, but Jimin said Jungkook seemed really down at the weekend. I assumed it had something to do with that phone conversation because something sounded _really_ off.”

“I messed up,” V says sadly. “I think I really screwed it up for good this time.”

“So, what, you’re not even going to try?” Hoseok asks disbelievingly. “Because that’s ridiculous. If you want to show him you care, you’re doing a pretty bad job of it.”

“If you’re going to just yell at me, I’m leaving,” V snaps in frustration, standing up from the sofa.

Hoseok sighs. “Fine, okay. Sit back down, will you? I’m not letting you break up with me as well.”

“Dude, that was a low blow,” V accuses, understandably hurt, but he sits back down all the same. “Look, can we just watch TV or something? I really don’t want to think about this anymore.”

Hoseok nods and reaches for the remote. “I’ll let you wallow for a bit, but when you’re ready to get your head out of your arse I’m here to help you sort things out, alright?”

“Yeah, I know,” V says quietly.

Hoseok turns on the TV and neither of them mention Jungkook again for the rest of the evening.

 

***

 

Jisoo is sitting at home, her head buried very convincingly in a revision book to which she is paying approximately zero attention, when the doorbell rings.

“Lisa?” she asks in confusion once the front door is open.

“Hi,” Lisa smiles brightly. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“How do you know where I live?” Jisoo continues, perplexed.

“I walked you home after the dance was over on Friday,” Lisa responds, also confused. “Do you not remember?”

Jisoo averts her gaze, focusing instead on the flowers in her neighbour’s garden. They’re pretty – almost as pretty as Lisa. But she’s a little reluctant to find out where that train of thought takes her.

“But you must remember _something_ ,” Lisa continues as she thinks it through, “because you’ve been avoiding me.”

Jisoo’s gaze snaps back to Lisa. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

Lisa raises an eyebrow. “You haven’t responded to any of my messages since Friday.”

Jisoo frowns. “I’ve been studying. I haven’t looked at my phone.”

“For three days?” Lisa scoffs. “Look, please let me in. I want to talk to you about this. I’d hate to lose our friendship.”

Jisoo sighs and opens the door wider, stepping to the side to let Lisa in, because she would hate to lose their friendship, too.

“Shall we sit?” Jisoo asks once she’s walked Lisa through to the living room. Lisa nods and takes a seat, but Jisoo stays standing, looking around the room nervously. “Do you want a drink? Maybe I should go get us some blankets; it’s a bit cold in here –”

“It’s fine,” Lisa interrupts.

Lisa raises an eyebrow at as Jisoo hesitantly sits down next to her, avoiding eye contact. It isn’t like Jisoo at all – she’s obviously nervous – but Lisa doesn’t have the patience right now for approaching this delicately. She needs answers.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on? You told me before that you were straight. And I know you were drunk on Friday, but when you kissed me it felt like you meant it.” Lisa keeps her voice steady; her words straight-forward and factual. “If you’re going through some kind of sexuality crisis and you need some time to figure things out on your own, you only have to say. But it’s not fair to string me along like this when you know I like you.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you,” Jisoo says softly. “I’m just confused, and… look, there’s obviously been some kind of misunderstanding. I don’t even remember the kiss?” she admits tentatively. “I mean, I do a little bit, but I was really out of it. I only know what happened because Jimin told me afterwards. I didn’t know what to say to you… I _still_ don’t know what to say to you.”

Lisa sighs. “You’re still confused?” she says, just to confirm. She knows it’s rare to suddenly realise your sexuality overnight, but one can hope. Call her selfish, but she wants to be able to kiss Jisoo again, this time both of them sober.

“I swear I’m straight,” Jisoo says with a breathless chuckle. The more she’s said it the last few days, the more it feels like a lie.

“Do you want me to leave?” Lisa asks then, maybe a bit disappointed, but she doesn’t really know what she expected.

“No,” Jisoo says honestly, the response coming out before she has a chance to think it through. But there’s clearly some truth to her words, so Jisoo takes a deep breath and for the first time allows herself to wonder. “Can I… can I try something?” she asks hesitantly.

“What is it?” Lisa asks, keeping her voice soft like she doesn’t want to shatter the moment.

“I need to figure out what I’m feeling,” Jisoo says softly. “Whether there’s more to thinking you’re pretty than wanting to know where you got your makeup and clothes from. Just – don’t get your hopes up, okay? This is an experiment.” And then Jisoo leans forward, putting her hands on Lisa’s neck to draw her closer, and Lisa thinks that she wouldn’t even have a chance to process what was about to happen if it weren’t for Jisoo’s slight hesitation.

Lisa doesn’t do much with the time she has to process; simply gasps in surprise. Then Jisoo’s lips are on hers and Lisa’s eyes flutter closed, barely able to focus on the fact that this is actually _happening._ Not in her imagination, not when they’re both drunken messes, but in a _real_ , sober situation.

Lisa kisses her gently, not wanting to overwhelm her, but soon enough Jisoo is tilting her head for a new angle and their lips slot together just right and – Lisa sighs into the kiss as Jisoo tangles a hand in her hair, her other hand slipping just under Lisa’s shirt to hold onto her waist.

Eventually they break apart for breath, and Jisoo can’t help but smile, because everything is starting to make sense. “God, Rosé is going to kill me,” she chuckles breathlessly, before pulling Lisa in for another kiss.

After a couple more minutes of soft kisses and shy touches, Lisa and Jisoo separate, trying to catch their breath.

“So… what now?” Jisoo asks nervously.

Lisa grins. “How do these things usually start?” she teases. “What do you say to going out on a date?”

Jisoo smiles cheekily. “Does this mean I have to cancel all the blind dates I had scheduled for the holidays?”

Lisa shoves her shoulder, a fond smile on her face. “Half term only lasts for a week, how many dates could you possibly have set up?”

“Three,” Jisoo chuckles embarrassedly. “I guess I was just… desperate to find someone who makes me feel the way you do.”

Lisa laughs. “Fuck off. We haven’t even gone on a date yet and you’re already talking like this?”

Jisoo laughs too. “Why are you asking so many questions?”

Lisa smirks at her as she asks yet another question. “How does a trip to the cinema tomorrow night sound to you?”

Jisoo answers by kissing her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put in some lisoo to distract from the taekook angst lol
> 
> hope you enjoyed! it might seem like a lot right now but this chapter is probably as angsty as the breakup gets so things will only go up from here, don’t worry! :)
> 
> I’m actually really curious, who do you think is in the wrong here? taehyung? jungkook? both of them? someone else entirely? lol
> 
> also next chapter is the car race scene YAY


	39. greased lightning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the car race!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for some homophobia in this chapter :( in the car race scene. the rest of the chapter is safe. if you think it will make you feel uncomfortable then feel free to skip the car scene, basically you can stop reading once it gets to J-Hope’s line of “you ready to get this thing started?” (you can start reading again after the stars, the section that starts with “Jungkook sits”) and I can always let you know what you missed in the comments if you ask! :)))
> 
> p.s. if you read chapter 37 when it was first posted, you may remember that the race was scheduled for Thursday. I went over my timeline of events and decided to change it to the Friday; I’ve changed it in ch37 now as well, and the change doesn’t really affect anything at all lol but yeah just in case anyone would’ve been confused by that!!
> 
> on a lighter note, we’re starting off with some cute yoonmin and lisoo, so let’s go! :D

Jimin is in the middle of his afternoon yoga session when there’s a knock on the door. Still in a serene state from the workout, he pads over to the front door barefoot, opening it gently. The soothing sound of yoga music is still faintly audible in the hallway.

Yoongi is looking back at him. “Put on your shoes, we’re going to the cinema,” he announces.

“Shh,” Jimin responds, leaving the door open for Yoongi to come inside as he returns to his yoga mat.

“Uh – Jimin?” Yoongi asks in confusion as he enters the living room. “Whatcha doing there?”

Jimin glares at him as he goes into tree pose.

“Seriously, you’re not going to talk to me? What the hell,” Yoongi mutters under his breath. “First you don’t answer your phone, then you completely ignore me when I come over to check you’re okay.”

Jimin closes his eyes and does his best to keep ignoring Yoongi.

“This conversation is extremely one-sided,” Yoongi grumbles.

Jimin sighs, coming out of tree pose and pausing the yoga video as he looks at his boyfriend resignedly. “What part of ‘shh’ don’t you understand?”

Yoongi blinks at him. “You promised me a trip to the cinema once I finished chapter 7 of my Chemistry revision book. I finished. Time for you to pay up.”

Jimin raises an eyebrow. “I promised you a cinema trip – that doesn’t mean that you can cash it in whenever you want. Didn’t it occur to you when I didn’t answer my phone that I was busy?” he asks pointedly. He then turns back to his yoga video, pressing play.

“I just wanted to see you,” Yoongi says awkwardly, fiddling with the loose threads on his jeans.

“Don’t try to guilt me into this,” Jimin smirks. “You don’t get to decide what I do with my time. We can go when I’ve finished this workout.”

Yoongi grins at him. “So I can stay and watch?”

Jimin huffs. “Just for that comment, I’m going to make you do it with me.”

Yoongi blanches. “Wait – come on, don’t make me do _yoga_ –”

“We’re about to go into savasana, which is basically relaxation,” Jimin says with a light chuckle as he searches for his spare yoga mat. “Your lazy ass might actually enjoy it.”

“Right,” Yoongi scoffs. But he still accepts his punishment and lies down on the mat, listening to the calming yoga soundtrack as a serene voice tells him to breathe in and out slowly and relax all parts of his body…

 

***

 

“Yoongi, wake up,” Jimin says gently in his ear.

Yoongi blinks his eyes open slowly. “What…?”

“You fell asleep,” Jimin chuckles. “It’s okay, it’s completely normal. I sometimes fall asleep in savasana as well, but usually I wake up when the end credits come on and the music changes.” He kisses Yoongi on the cheek. “You ready to go to the cinema now?”

Yoongi naturally feels a bit grumpy after being woken up, but Jimin points out that he was the person who insisted on a cinema trip and that he doesn’t really have the right to be salty about it when _Jimin_ was the one whose plans were interrupted. So Yoongi bites his tongue and lets it go.

Jimin insists on testing Yoongi on his Chemistry revision on the way there, but once they’re inside the theatre Yoongi tells him to shut up because they’re meant to be there to enjoy themselves. They pick an action film, one that Jungkook went to see with Bambam and highly recommended; and although going to the cinema wasn’t what Jimin planned to do this afternoon, he can’t deny that it’s nice to take a break from his daily schedule of revision and spend some time with his boyfriend. They haven’t really discussed what will be happening next year once they’ve both finished their A Levels, and although Jimin isn't worried about the state of their relationship, he wants to make the most of his time with Yoongi while it’s still easy for them to see each other.

As they’re walking out of the cinema screen, immersed in conversation about the film they’ve just watched, suddenly Jimin catches sight of some bright red hair and he cuts himself off mid-sentence, smiling excitedly. “Hey – Jisoo!” he calls out.

Jisoo looks around in confusion, then smiles brightly when she spots him. “Hi!” she calls back happily, getting someone’s attention – and then she and Lisa are walking over towards them. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Just taking a break from revision,” Jimin shrugs as Suga sips his Coke, slightly relieved that Jimin doesn’t mention their reward system. (Suga may act like he doesn’t care about people’s opinions, but he would feel kind of embarrassed if anyone found out that his main motivation to study Chemistry was the promise of Jimin taking him out on dates.)

“What did you see?” Lisa asks. “We’re trying to figure out what to watch.”

“That new action film with those… those actors,” Jimin says excitedly.

Suga smirks. “Do you seriously not remember the name of the film we just spent 2 hours watching? Anyway, Jisoo would probably hate it – really not her thing,” he comments idly. “Maybe pick a romcom?”

“I can handle a bit of violence,” Jisoo argues. But she still turns to Lisa and says, “Is a romcom okay with you?”

Lisa laughs. “Whatever’s cool, I’m not fussed.” She notices that there’s a space open at one of the counters and looks at Jisoo questioningly. “I’ll pick something for us while you catch up with Jimin?”

“Sure,” Jisoo grins. “Oh – here…” she says as she gets £10 out of her purse and holds it out to Lisa. “To cover my half.”

Lisa pushes Jisoo’s hand away. “It’s cool, I’ve got it.”

Jisoo frowns. “You’re a broke student.”

“Who’s trying to make a good impression,” Lisa smirks. “Besides, don’t act like you’re not a broke student too.”

Jisoo laughs. “If we’re both broke then surely it makes more sense to pay for ourselves. Anyway, you don’t have to make a good impression; I already like you.”

Lisa winks at her. “You can cover the cost next time. I’m paying and you can’t stop me.” She then walks up to the counter, Jisoo smiling shyly despite herself as she pockets her money.

“So, you guys seem to be back to normal,” Jimin comments as soon as Lisa is out of earshot. “You sorted things out, then?”

“Yeah, we sorted things out,” Jisoo agrees, sounding pleased if not a little awkward. “Um… we’re actually on a date right now.”

Jimin squeals loudly – loud enough to make a few people nearby turn round in surprise, as Suga looks at him in alarm.

“I didn’t even know you were capable of making that noise,” Suga says, sounding surprising calm as he nonchalantly sips on his Coke. (Perhaps the yoga relaxation really did get to him.)

“Then you’re clearly not fucking me hard enough,” Jimin shoots back, and Suga chokes.

“Anyway,” Jisoo says, not even batting an eyelid, “I was going to message you later about this, but seeing as you’re here – what’s happening on Friday? Did either of you want a lift, or shall I just meet you there?”

“I’ll meet you there,” Jimin smiles. “I said I’d pick up Kook on the way, anyway, and Suga’s going down in the truck with the other T-Birds.”

“Is Kook definitely coming?” Jisoo frowns. “He doesn’t seem that interested, to be honest. I could see he was looking at the group chat this morning, reading our messages and not responding as usual, and as soon as Ro mentioned the car race he just disappeared.”

“I don’t know what’s up with him lately,” Jimin admits. “He keeps deflecting the conversation away whenever I try to bring up the race. I’ll ask him about it later, maybe.”

Jisoo shrugs. “Well, he hasn’t told you he’s not going,” she says fairly. “You can always turn up at his house on Friday and if he tells you he doesn’t want to go, just kidnap him.”

Jimin laughs. “There’s an idea.”

Jisoo grins. “Well, it was good catching up with you guys, but I’d better get back to Lisa.”

Jimin grins back. “Yeah, you’d better! And _have fun_ ,” he instructs her. “Honestly, I can’t believe this is _finally_ happening.”

Jisoo looks at him warily, putting her hands on his shoulders to make sure she has his attention. “Don’t get too excited, now. And don’t go blabbing about it on the group chat either – you _can’t_ tell Rosé,” she tells him seriously. “You have to promise me. She’ll _never_ let me live it down.”

Jimin snorts. “You can’t hide your relationship from her. She’s your best friend.”

“Just watch me,” Jisoo says defiantly.

Jimin rolls his eyes. “I’ll see you on Friday,” he says, grabbing Suga’s hand and leading him out of the cinema.

Jisoo reaches the till where Lisa’s buying the tickets just in time for Lisa to say, “Jisoo, thank God, do you think you can take some of these snacks? I don’t have enough hands.”

Jisoo gapes at her. “Why did you get so much stuff?”

“What’s a cinema trip without a feast?” Lisa grins in response.

Jisoo takes the bag of popcorn from the counter as Lisa picks up the three bags of assorted chocolates and shoves the two packets of sweets into her handbag, before they head into the cinema screen. Once they’re sat in their seats, Lisa goes to take some of the popcorn, but Jisoo shakes her head, holding the bag out of her reach.

Lisa looks at her in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“You can’t start the popcorn before the film has started,” Jisoo explains seriously. “We’ll end up running out before anything’s even happened, and then we’ll be starving by the time the film’s over.”

“Then we can just go out for dinner,” Lisa suggests, a cheeky smile on her face.

Jisoo chuckles. “Maybe. But I’m still not letting you have any of this before the opening credits come on.”

“You know I’m the one who paid for it, right?” Lisa deadpans.

Jisoo doesn’t waver.

Lisa rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’m at least starting the chocolate.”

Jisoo looks hopefully at the bag of Minstrels when Lisa opens it and pops one into her mouth. “Can I have one?”

Lisa snorts. “What happened to ‘no snacks before the film starts’?”

“That’s just popcorn!” Jisoo protests. “It’s the cinema rule – popcorn is for films. Chocolate is for whenever. Can you imagine only being allowed to have chocolate if you were having a movie marathon?”

Lisa frowns. “I have chocolate basically every morning when I get up. I’d have to watch a _lot_ of films.”

Jisoo looks at her in surprise. “You really eat chocolate that much?”

“Yeah,” Lisa answers. “Why are you so surprised?”

Jisoo frowns. “I don’t know. I guess with that body, I assumed you only ate unhealthy stuff on special occasions.”

Lisa chuckles. “Are you flirting with me?”

Jisoo still seems confused. “Does complimenting your hot body count as flirting?”

Lisa forces herself not to laugh as she responds, “I’d say so, yeah.”

Jisoo shrugs. “Then yeah, I guess I am. Can I have a Minstrel?” she repeats.

Lisa holds the bag away from her, teasing her for her own actions with the popcorn. “You’ll have to work for it.”

Jisoo leans forward and pecks Lisa on the lips, pulling away before Lisa even has a chance to process what’s just happened.

“I, um,” Lisa says awkwardly, seeming uncharacteristically flustered. “I know we’ve been flirting, and that we’re technically on a date right now, but I really didn’t expect you to do that.”

Jisoo chuckles. “Have I earnt a Minstrel yet?”

Lisa hums in consideration. “If you kiss me some more, I’ll let you share the whole bag with me,” she decides.

Jisoo leans forward and kisses her again, her hands round Lisa’s neck as Lisa’s hands rest on Jisoo’s waist. They kiss each other softly, like they have all the time in the world – up until the trailers come onto the screen and the volume cranks up, shocking them both apart as they burst out laughing.

“Fuck, that was terrifying,” Lisa giggles as she pops another Minstrel into her mouth. “You’re a really good kisser, by the way,” she adds as an afterthought.

“You too,” Jisoo grins. “Is your lipstick grapefruit flavoured?”

Lisa nods excitedly, impressed Jisoo recognised the flavour. “Uh huh. You like it?”

“Yeah,” Jisoo hums. “Where did you get it from? I might have to invest in one myself.”

“Or… you could just keep kissing me,” Lisa suggests cheekily.

Jisoo laughs. “I guess that works too.” She pecks Lisa on the lips again, smiling shyly as she pulls away. “You know, I always wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl wearing flavoured lipstick like that.” She frowns at her own phrasing as she stumbles to correct herself. “I mean – I have this strawberry lipstick and when I kissed people, I’d wonder what they tasted. Or, like, what it would be like if two people wearing lipstick with two different flavours kissed each other. Not that I was _thinking_ about kissing girls, but –”

Lisa struggles not to laugh. “I can’t believe you ever thought you were straight.”

Jisoo chuckles embarrassedly. “Everyone seemed to know except me. I feel kind of stupid.”

Lisa smiles fondly. “You’re not stupid. It can be hard figuring out who you are. Besides, some people just have a much better gaydar than others.”

Jisoo hums. “Do you have a good gaydar? Is that why you were so surprised when I told you I was straight?”

“Kind of,” Lisa chuckles. “But I’m technically not gay. I have bifi.”

Jisoo snorts. “You mean like wifi?”

“Exactly,” Lisa grins. “It would be convenient if it actually gave me a decent internet connection, but if it helped me find you instead then I guess that’s a close second.” She then puts the bag of Minstrels in between them. “I think you’ve earnt your half of the Minstrels now, by the way.”

Jisoo wiggles her eyebrows. “You sure?” she asks, leaning forward to kiss Lisa again. “Because I’m not done yet,” she mumbles against Lisa’s lips.

Lisa kisses her back softly. “Damn, I thought you were flirty when I first met you, but I really underestimated what you’d be like once we were dating,” she admits, her eyes fluttering closed when Jisoo kisses her again. “Can you stop distracting me?” she complains half-heartedly. “The film will be starting soon and I’d rather not miss the beginning.”

Jisoo giggles. “Sorry,” she says teasingly, relaxing back into her seat. “It’s just really nice kissing you. I’m so used to feeling kind of bored when I kiss people. This is better.”

“I’m glad I’m not boring you,” Lisa snorts.

Jisoo grins. “You know what I mean.”

And despite Lisa’s insistence on wanting to pay attention to the film, she’s the one who keeps whispering commentary on the characters into Jisoo’s ear as they watch it, and some of her theories are so ridiculous that Jisoo finds herself trying to hold back her laughter even at the moments that are meant to be serious. “I can never watch a movie with you again,” she complains as they walk out of the cinema.

“Come on, you can’t tell me you didn’t have fun,” Lisa protests. She’s grinning, and she thinks she’s won.

Jisoo shakes her head. “I’m choosing what we do next time, deal?”

Lisa’s grin softens, and she seems almost shy. “We’re going out again, then?”

Jisoo raises an eyebrow. “Duh.” She kisses Lisa on the cheek, turning away before Lisa can see her blushing. “I’ll text you!” she shouts over her shoulder.

 

***

 

“Hey,” Hoseok says awkwardly when V arrives at his house on Thursday, read to get in some driving practice before the race tomorrow. “Uh, how are you doing?”

V shakes his head. “Let’s not do this right now. We need to focus on winning the race. _Then_ I can focus on winning Jungkook back.”

Hoseok raises an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised. “You’re planning on winning him back, then?”

“I mean, obviously,” V says. “I can’t just give up on us. I care too much for that.”

“That sounds a little like what I told you a few days ago,” Hoseok says smugly.

“Fuck off, everyone needs time to wallow,” V says, rolling his eyes. “But I know we’re meant to be together. I just – I wish he didn’t have to do this _now_ ,” he says pointedly, gesturing to the truck. When V turns back to Hoseok, he looks more vulnerable than Hoseok has seen him in a while. “I needed him this week,” he adds quietly.

Hoseok pats him on the back, a conciliatory gesture which at the same time says _pull yourself together_. “Here’s what’s going to happen, dude. We’re going to win the race, make those fuckers shut up once and for all, and then you’re going to fix things with your boyfriend.”

“Right,” V chuckles awkwardly. “Now we just need to make that actually _happen._ ”

Hoseok grins as he unlocks the doors to the truck, climbing inside. “Hey, you know I won’t let them win. You’ve never met a driver more reckless than me; we’ve got this in the bag.”

V smiles, slamming the door shut behind Hoseok and leaning down to poke his head through the window once Hoseok rolls it down. “I’m still impressed you managed to convince Suga out of driving.”

Hoseok snorts. “He admitted himself that he would’ve taken it easy in case he damaged the truck. It really wasn’t that difficult getting him to let me behind the wheel.” He pats the steering wheel in front of him. “I’ll try not to break it, though,” he adds, semi-convincingly.

V almost laughs. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”

Hoseok hums in acknowledgement. “Hey, you know there’s that thing in drama – that person who’s a backup to the main role?”

V frowns. “You mean an understudy?”

“Yeah, that,” Hoseok nods. “Well – if something goes wrong tomorrow… if I can’t drive, do you think you could be my understudy?”

V chuckles. “What, are you scared you’re going to chicken out?”

Hoseok scoffs at the question. “Are you seriously expecting those prats to play _fair_? I’m expecting some form of sabotage.” He raises an eyebrow. “So, what do you say?”

V frowns. “I mean – sure. If you want me to. But why me?”

Hoseok shrugs. “If it can’t be me saving your neck out there, I’d like you to be in control of what happens. I know you hate having to watch from the sidelines.”

V sighs. “I don’t know how much being involved would really help the situation.”

“You care more about the outcome than any of us,” Hoseok reasons. “If anyone else can win this thing, it’s you.”

 

***

 

It’s Friday morning when Jungkook gets a phone call from Jimin. “Hey, what’s up?” Jungkook says when he answers, trying to act nonchalant.

“Funny how you ask that when you refuse to tell _me_ what’s up,” Jimin responds snidely. “Seriously, you’ve been down all week and you won’t even talk to me about it. I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

Jungkook gulps. “I want to talk to you about it. Trust me, I really do – I just… can’t. Especially not now, not after everything.”

He can practically hear Jimin frowning. “Why are you always so cryptic nowadays? Look, if you’ve got yourself involved in some sort of gang or drug ring or something and you need a friend to help you out, I’m your man.”

“What the fuck?” Jungkook splutters. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just – I can’t tell you. You’ll understand why, once you know.”

“How will I ever know if you can’t tell me?” Jimin points out.

Jungkook sighs. “Why did you ring me, Jimin?”

Jimin sighs as well, probably realising that he’s not going to get anywhere with his incessant questioning. “I wanted to check I’m still picking you up for the car race this afternoon.”

“I – I’m not really sure I want to go,” Jungkook says hesitantly.

“What are you talking about? Come on, you know it’ll be fun!” Jimin insists. “V will be there,” he adds, a smirk in his voice as Jungkook feels his heart sink down to the floor.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says, his voice quiet and subdued.

“Seriously, Kook,” Jimin says, his voice also quieter now. “I don’t know what happened, but you haven’t been yourself lately. You’ve refused to meet up with any of us this week and I – I’m worried about you, okay? Whatever’s going on, you don’t have to tell me if you _really_ don’t want to. But I still think it would be nice for you to get out and see all the Pink Ladies again. We all miss you.”

“It’s barely been a week,” Jungkook mutters. “It’s pathetic if you can’t go a _week_ without seeing someone.” His words are harsh, but they aren’t really directed at the Pink Ladies. It’s more to do with how ridiculous he feels for missing Taehyung already. He can’t help but regret his decision to break things off, ever since he saw how helpless Taehyung looked in the café on Monday. He was convinced it was the right thing to do, but how could it possibly be the right thing to do if it’s making them both feel terrible?

“Please, Kook?” Jimin persists. “I don’t know how much time we’ll all have together once you and Rosé go back to school; the rest of us will be so busy with our exams.” There’s a pause on the other end of the line, like Jungkook is at least considering it, and Jimin takes his chance. “Look, you don’t even have to do anything; just put on some clothes and be ready for me to pick you up at 2:30. You don’t even have to put on clothes if you don’t want to! I mean – you could stay in your pyjamas, or even wear a bin bag or something, I don’t fucking know. I just don’t want you sitting stark naked in my car; that would make me extremely uncomfortable.”

Jungkook laughs. “Okay. _Fine_ , I’ll go. But I’m only agreeing so that you’ll shut up,” he adds pointedly.

Jimin laughs too. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

***

 

To Jungkook’s relief, Jimin decides not to keep questioning him about his sour mood when Jungkook gets in the car. Instead, he acts like everything is completely normal between them. And even if it makes Jungkook feel guilty for keeping Jimin out of the loop, especially given the conversation they end up having, he’s grateful for the distraction.

“I went to the cinema with Suga on Tuesday to see that film you recommended,” Jimin says conversationally as he drives.

“Oh, you did?” Jungkook says interestedly. “What did you think?”

“It was really good! But guess who else was there,” he says wiggling his eyebrows.

Jungkook squints at him. “Suga?”

Jimin briefly tears his eyes away from the road to glare at Jungkook. “Apart from Suga, you dick. Anyway, it was Lisa and Jisoo, on their first date!”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Their first date? What – when did that happen?”

“Well, after they got off at the dance last week, Jisoo finally figured out that she was gay, so –” He cuts himself off, glancing at Jungkook again. “Why do you look so shocked?”

“They got off at the dance?” Jungkook responds, his eyes even wider than before.

“You didn’t know?” Jimin asks, surprised. “Well, I guess now it makes sense why Rosé hasn’t said anything about it. But yeah, they were all over each other at the dance, but also totally drunk, so I ended up breaking the news to Jisoo about it accidentally on Sunday. I’m glad they figured things out, though. They certainly took their time.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook chuckles. “I’m glad they’re happy though. Does Rosé still not know, then?”

Jimin scoffs. “Jisoo told me not to tell her. I think she’s embarrassed? But seriously, imagine not telling your _best friend_ that you’re dating someone. She’s insane.”

Jungkook coughs. “Right. So – uh, is it a secret, then? And if it is, why did you tell me?”

“I don’t think it’s a secret from anyone except Rosé,” Jimin says thoughtfully. “God knows how that would work, though. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell you. But whatever, it’s not like it – hey, we’re here!” he says excitedly, cutting himself off mid-sentence.

Jungkook frowns as Jimin pulls into a field. “What do you mean we’re here? This is a field.” There are a few other parked cars in the vicinity, plus some people milling about by the edge of the field, right beside the road.

“This is where the race is happening, Kook,” Jimin explains as he parks the car and turns off the engine, paying no attention to a bewildered Jungkook. Before Jungkook has a chance to question it further, there’s a knocking at the windows and he looks up to see Jisoo’s face staring back at him. Jimin gets out of the car, leaving his door wide open and greeting the other Pink Ladies while Jungkook stays unsurely in the passenger seat.

“You managed to convince him!” Jin comments with a pleased smile.

“I told you I’m persuasive,” Jimin says with a smug smile.

“Where are they even racing?” Jungkook says awkwardly as he pokes his head out of the door. “If everyone’s parked here, there isn’t any room to race around the field.”

Jisoo stifles a laugh. “They’re not racing in the field. They’re racing over there,” she explains, gesturing to the country lane opposite them. “It’s from this section here up to those trees,” she says, gesturing to a clump of trees at the far end of the field, “then back to the start line. Whoever gets back here first wins.”

Jungkook gapes, dumbstruck. “But… that’s so dangerous? This is a _public_ road. Anyone could come down and crash into them.”

Rosé snorts. “That’s kind of the point, Kook. What’s the point having a car race if it’s in safe, controlled conditions?” She looks at Jungkook’s scandalised face and rolls her eyes. “Relax. J-Hope’s a certified reckless driver. He’s used to dangerous situations; nothing bad is going to happen.”

“If it makes you feel any better, the T-Birds won the coin toss for who gets to drive on the left,” Jin tells him comfortingly. “So if any cars do come down the road while they’re racing, it will be the other team who are in danger.”

Jungkook slumps further into his seat, a pout on his face. If he’d realised how unsafe this whole race scenario was going to be, he never would have agreed to the suggestion.

“Are you alright, Kook?” Jimin asks him worriedly. “I’m sure it’ll all be fine, honestly.”

Jungkook reaches over and pulls the car door shut.

The time ticks closer to 3pm and eventually Jimin opens the car door again, poking his head inside. “You going to get out of the car, Kook?” he asks. “It looks like they’re starting soon.”

“Actually, I think I’ll stay in here,” Jungkook answers nonchalantly, thanking the universe when Jimin merely shrugs and closes the door again. The last thing Jungkook wants is for V to notice him watching in the crowd.

The Pink Ladies watch as J-Hope steps forward, but there seems to be some sort of disagreement because suddenly LE looks angry, and they all watch what’s happening in confusion.

“What the hell is going on?” Jin mumbles, squinting at the scene unfolding.

 

***

 

“You ready to get this thing started?” J-Hope asks once the clock reaches 3pm.

“Sure,” one of the boys in the opposition responds. He’s their driver for today and there’s a smug smile on his face, like he thinks he’s already won. “But before we get going, I think everyone deserves to know why we’re gathered here today, don’t you think?”

V feels his heartbeat quicken as LE subtly glares at them.

“I think the reason for us being here is pretty self-explanatory _,_ don’t you think?” J-Hope responds calmly, although the venom in those words is clearly audible. J-Hope gestures to their surroundings. “We’re here to have a car race.”

The boy smirks. “Right. And why are we having a race in the first place, hmm?”

“I stole a load of shit from your car to finish off our truck,” LE announces, stepping forward from her spot next to the vehicle to move closer to the opposition. “What’s your point, dickhead?”

The guy laughs. “I think you already know what my point is.”

J-Hope still looks calm from a distance, but LE is closer to him now and she can see his fists clenching.

“One more word and I’ll kick your fucking face in,” LE warns him, her voice quiet but undeniably threatening.

The guy grins, ignoring her as he turns around to face the crowd triumphantly. “Is everyone paying attention? You’re going to want to listen to this,” he shouts. “I’ve found out that one of the T-Birds is _gay._ ”

V’s heart is almost beating out of his chest at this point, and he can feel some people in the field staring over at him and the others. But before he can react, Suga is yelling back.

“ _Actually_ I’m polysexual,” he shouts indignantly. “Don’t mislabel me.”

“What a fucking douche. Way to insult the opposition right before the race,” Hani mumbles disgustedly, and V nods in agreement, trying to hide his panic.

The guy falters, looking at Suga in confusion and ignoring how LE is cracking her knuckles, stalking towards him with intent. “What the – who’s Polly?” He shakes his head, like he’s trying to clear his thoughts. “Stop distracting me. The point _is_ ,” he says determinedly, turning back to the crowd, “that this T-Bird is _not straight._ He’s not _normal._ ” He’s pointing in the direction of the T-Bird truck, where V, Hani and Suga are stood.

“Everyone already knows I’m not straight,” Suga continues in bewilderment, stepping closer to the guy insulting him. “I have a _boyfriend_. What exactly are you trying to achieve?”

“Don’t come near us, you faggot,” one of the guy’s friends spits in response, and LE sees red.

The next few seconds are a blur, with LE landing a couple of punches on the driver before all hell breaks loose. And then a couple other members of the opposition are rushing forward, coming to their friend’s aid; Suga and J-Hope getting caught in the crossfire as they try to hold LE back. It only comes to a halt when J-Hope gets punched hard enough in the face that he falls backwards, landing on the floor, and everyone stares at him in alarm.

The moment is broken by an angry voice shouting, “What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?!” – and then Rosé is kneeling down next to J-Hope, worry etched on her features. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay,” he replies comfortingly. “Just took me by surprise that’s all. I’ll be fine.” He smiles weakly at all his friends surrounding him. “Can you guys move out of the way so I can actually stand up?”

Suga guides Hani and LE out of J-Hope’s way so that Rosé and V can help him up. But once J-Hope is stood up straight again, he starts blinking rapidly and leans on V for support.

“Fuck – mate,” V mumbles incoherently as he struggles to support J-Hope. “You sure you’re okay?”

J-Hope laughs embarrassedly. “Uh, I’m a little dizzy, actually. I’ll be fine. But I don’t think I should be driving.”

V gulps. “Fuck, okay… I guess I’m doing it then.”

J-Hope pats him on the back. “You got this, dude. Channel all your energy into the truck and you’ll smash it.”

Hani comes over and takes J-Hope’s arm. “Rosé, help me get him over to the field? He can sit and watch with you guys.”

 

***

 

Before he knows it, V is sat behind the wheel, gathering all his confidence as one of the guys from the opposition gives the start signal.

As V slams down hard on the accelerator, he thinks he sees the driver in the car next to him mouthing something through the window at him that looks suspiciously like ‘fag’. And on the one hand, V thinks it’s really about time he gets some new insults, but the vague hurt that accompanies it only fuels him to drive faster. Nobody with that much blatant disregard for another human being deserves a victory – even if they _were_ only racing for ownership of the other’s vehicle.

He can sense the other driver trying to distract him – even going so far as to wind down the window and yell homophobic slurs at him. He blocks him out. Focuses on the trees up ahead; the halfway point before he needs to turn back. The adrenaline plus the wind in his ears makes it hard to hear much, but V swears he hears something about how he’s a sissy, practically a girl, and they can’t drive, so why is he even trying? (And, great. Not only is he homophobic, but he’s sexist too.)

V tightens his grip on the wheel, cutting across the road in front of the other driver, making a sharp turn around the corner and slowing down the other guy’s progress in doing so. It’s a risky move – he could’ve been driven into if the guy didn’t have the sense to slow down – but it seems to pay off. Because he’s on his way back to the start line; to the _finish_ line, and he’s going to fucking win it. He knows he is.

It happens too quickly for him to process, the cheering voices all blending into the background as V has one thought: when he comes out, it will be on his own terms. Not like this, not in a forced situation, not when it’s announced by someone who seems to think there’s a problem with his sexual orientation. Not when it would be made to sound like a _bad_ thing.

He’s going to tell people, and he’s going to do it properly.

He makes sure not to slow down before reaching the finish line, speeding past all the people watching before he even lets up on the accelerator, because he isn’t taking any chances. But eventually he stops; reverses back to where his friends are waiting. Turns into the field, gets out of the truck, and only when the T-Birds and Pink Ladies rush over to him and shower him with praise does it sink in. The victory, the weight of what he’s won, and the simultaneous weight off his shoulders.

(He can’t even comprehend how a bulky truck like theirs could be faster than a state-of-the-art car that he was up against, but maybe he should stop underestimating Suga’s mechanics skills. Besides, clearly V is a better driver than the opposition expected him to be.)

In his giddy state, he scans the crowd surrounding him, searching for one familiar face – but of course, there are only four pink jackets in the vicinity. Why would Jungkook be here, after all?

But before he has a chance for the disappointment to kick in, J-Hope is yelling in his ear, “You did it! You won!” and V can’t help but grin back at him.

“ _We_ did it,” he corrects, throwing his arms around J-Hope in a hug, which quickly turns into a group hug when the others join in.

“We got a fucking _car_ ,” Hani announces excitedly, and – shit, yeah, there’s that too. A victory in more ways than one. “Way to go, dude!”

V laughs. “Thanks. Do you think we should repaint it and gift it to the Pink Ladies?”

“Hell yeah!” the Pink Ladies cheer.

 

***

 

Jungkook sits in the car, watching his friends all crowd around the truck as he tries to figure out what on earth he’s feeling. He knows that he should be happy for Taehyung – and on some level, he is. There’s no way he wanted Taehyung to be outed; not when he knows from first-hand experience how horrible it is.

But if he’s realised one thing since leaving Taehyung, it’s that he doesn’t want to be without him. Jungkook knows _he_ was the one to leave… and he knows, logically, that he did the right thing by doing that – there’s no cause for concern now that Taehyung won the race and he knows he won’t be forced to come out. But if he knows he did the right thing, why does he feel so regretful about it?

Maybe because in watching Taehyung celebrate, it feels like he’s watching a celebration of the fact that nobody knows about them. About their relationship; about how _good_ it was; about how Jungkook cared so fucking _much_ that he let go of the best thing in his life, just so he didn’t have to stand by and be the reason that Taehyung’s secret got out.

But Jungkook misses him like crazy, and all he wants to do is go over and tell Taehyung he’s sorry for everything that happened. He doesn’t _want_ to break up. But he can’t talk to him in front of the others – and none of his friends would even understand why he’s upset right now. They’re on their way back over to him and Jungkook can tell that they don’t know why he isn’t celebrating, but Jungkook can’t bring himself to act happy. The most he can muster is indifference. Because now that Jungkook is out of the picture, what are the chances that Taehyung would actually choose to come out, of his own volition? He must have realised by this point just how much easier it is to hide his true sexuality, if he doesn’t have a secret boyfriend to try and fit into his schedule.

So, yes maybe Jungkook knows he did the right thing, but maybe Jungkook wishes that he hadn’t done the right thing. Maybe Jungkook wishes that he’d done the wrong thing, just to hold Taehyung in his arms a little longer.

“Kook, are you okay?” Jimin asks him in confusion. “They won! You should be happy.”

Jungkook gulps. “Can I go home?” he asks quietly.

Jimin looks worried, by the response but he doesn’t ask any follow-up questions, for which Jungkook is grateful. Instead, he simply says goodbye to the other Pink Ladies and then gets in the car, smiling comfortingly at Jungkook before he drives him back home.

 

***

 

Taehyung can’t really decide how he’s feeling right now. Yes, of course it’s great that they won the race and that there’s now no immediate threat of him being outed, but he can’t help but feel like it was all a little… anticlimactic. He has so much pent-up tension and stress that’s dissipated in the blink of an eye and it’s left him in a state where he has no idea what to do with himself.

He prepared himself for everyone to find out. He didn’t want them to find out like _that,_ but he was prepared. Prepared for everyone to look at him differently; prepared for people to ask him questions he didn’t know how to answer; prepared to feel like shit for the next few weeks. _Prepared._

And now what?

Now he can tell people on his own terms. All he has left to do is muster up the courage.

Taehyung spends the rest of Friday night cooped up in his room, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. Somehow, he resorts to studying Biology, which is a little ridiculous because he’s never had any interest in the subject and he’s always said he’d rather focus on the subjects he actually _cares_ about, but anything he’s good at isn’t distracting enough right now. So he works his way methodically through the textbook, filling his brain with information he doesn’t think he’ll ever use again after the exam, just to stop his brain from going into overdrive.

His parents get home and almost have a heart attack when they realise that he’s studying, but then they ask him what he wants for dinner and everyone moves on.

As soon as Taehyung has finished eating, he returns to his room and continues working. _Tomorrow_ , he tells himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooh what will happen tomorrow ;)))
> 
> I didn’t really proofread this properly lol so if you saw any mistakes please let me know so I can amend it. hope you enjoyed! next chapter will be up in another couple of weeks^^
> 
> also -- thoughts on blackpink’s comeback??? the MV is hella visual omg,, and ngl I’ve basically been playing See You Later on repeat


	40. maybe it might be love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the title says it all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the cliffhanger before lol hope you enjoy this update ^^

Taehyung spends Saturday in his room, too. He tries studying, but he can’t concentrate as much as he could last night. Before, it was a distraction – now, it’s an excuse.

His parents pop into his room intermittently, to offer him various things: snacks, help with revision, general enquiries about how he’s doing. They obviously know that something is up, because Taehyung does not _study._ Not like this, anyway. Not like he means it.

He joins his parents for lunch, too, a smile on his face as he basks in the normalcy of the situation. Tries to soak it all up. He’s worried that this might be the last time for a while that they’ll be able to sit like this together, with no stilted atmosphere and no uncomfortable questions.

It’s almost 5pm by the time his mother asks.

“Taehyung, you’ve been shut in your room all day,” she says as she walks into his room, closing the door behind her. “And, as nice as it is to see you taking an interest in your studies… are you okay?”

Taehyung takes in a deep breath, looking at his mother sombrely as he exhales shakily. This is it: the moment where everything changes. Where his mother’s views towards him will transform into something new and scary, and things could be awkward for a while after this. But this has been eating him up inside for far too long. It’s time to let it out.

“Mum…” His voice sounds a little scratchy from hardly using it all day. He takes another deep breath; forces himself to push the words out. “I’m gay.” Taehyung looks away, refusing to meet his mother’s eyes, until he hears her – completely unexpected – reply.

“I know,” she says easily, as if this very issue hasn’t been plaguing Taehyung’s mind for years.

Taehyung looks at her in alarm. “What do you mean you _know_?” he accuses. “How could you have known? _I_ didn’t know!”

She laughs; and somehow it comes across as kind and light-hearted rather than anything harsh or cruel. “You told me when you were 7,” she explains.

Taehyung gapes. “You mean… I…” He’s lost for words.

She sits down next to him on his bed, resting a hand on his arm comfortingly. “I had a conversation with you when you were 7 years old, where you told me that you had a crush on a boy in your class. So I asked you whether you liked boys instead of girls, and naturally I had to explain the actual concept of a crush to you, but once I had, you told me yes, that was how you felt. _Boys are pretty and have nice hair_ , you said. _Girls are gross._ ” She smiles at him fondly. “You then dropped the subject and so did I. Of course you were still young and there was always the potential that it was a misunderstanding, but after that I was more aware of the possibility and I started to notice the signs.” Taehyung is still staring at her in shock, and she squeezes his arm gently. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything more about it. But you seemed to forget about the whole thing – and by the time you were going through puberty and seeing different girls, I figured it was the type of thing you needed to figure out for yourself.”

Taehyung sighs, but it’s out of frustration rather than relief. “Then I really have been a _complete_ idiot.”

“What are you talking about?” his mother asks, confused by his sudden change of mood.

“There’s this guy…” he begins. “Well. _Was_ this guy. It’s… complicated.”

“Do you mean Jungkook?” she asks gently.

Taehyung’s eyes widen. “You know,” he says dumbly.

“Of course I know. You’re my son,” she smiles. “Besides, I saw you two snuggled up in bed together and that sort of confirmed it.” She pats him on the shoulder consolingly as he stares at her, completely shell-shocked. “I see the way you look at him, you know. You don’t even look at Soonshim like that.”

“What do you mean?” Taehyung asks in surprise. “How do I look at him?”

“Like you’re falling in love,” she responds softly.

There’s a moment of stunned silence before Taehyung groans. “It’s too late to be figuring out this shit.”

“Language,” his mother warns.

“I fucked up,” Taehyung continues, ignoring his mother’s admonishments. “Everything was so good and I screwed it all up. I was so worried about people finding out we were together and now we’re not even together at all.”

“Who were you so worried about?” his mother asks in surprise. “Us? Your friends? Soonshim?” she adds jokily.

“You,” Taehyung mumbles. “Dad. And my friends.” He pauses. “But Soonshim already knows. She’s seen us kissing enough times to figure it out.” He bites his lip, blushing at his own words. He didn’t quite mean to say that last bit out loud, but his mother doesn’t seem fazed.

“Well your father already knows as well,” she informs him. “And your friends will be fine. Isn’t half of the friendship group gay anyway?”

“Mum,” he protests with a surprised laugh. “Well, I guess. But it feels different when it’s you and not someone else. And the others have already known about themselves and been out for so _long_. It really wasn’t like that for me… I mean, I’d been wondering about it for a while, but I didn’t know for sure until I met Jungkook.” He sighs. “I feel like I can’t even be gay right.”

His mother chuckles. “You managed to find a handsome boy, didn’t you?”

“And lose him,” Taehyung reminds her.

“Then get him back,” she suggests gently.

“You make it sound so easy,” Taehyung sighs.

“Or maybe you’re just making it sound difficult,” she points out.

Taehyung feels his body deflate. “Maybe. But… what if I don’t know if I _should_ get him back? It’s just – I’ve already messed it up so many times between us. What if it’s a sign? The universe telling me we’re not meant to be together? He’s so…” He bites his lip, staring at the wall in front of him as his brain takes him someplace else entirely; back to the beautiful boy he was lucky enough to call _his_ for a while. Back to the boy he’s been falling for ever since Soonshim bit him on the ankle, next to the ice cream stand at the beach. “He’s the best person I’ve ever met. And he deserves so much better than me.”

His mother frowns. “Where did you learn to have such a low opinion of yourself?” she scolds. “Where’s that over-confident teenager who sasses me every time I ask him to help out with something around the house?”

Taehyung can’t help but laugh. “That’s all just an act, mum. I’m not really that confident. And where did you learn the term ‘sasses’ anyway?”

“I know things!” she says indignantly. “And one thing I _definitely_ know is that very few people legitimately have that kind of confidence. Sweetheart, everyone else out there is faking it too. So why don’t you fake it just a little bit longer and win back the boy of your dreams?” She gives him a cheesy grin, knowing that her offer is too good to turn down.

Taehyung rolls his eyes. “Because I’m tired of faking. I don’t want to be a fake version of myself anymore. I want to show him that I can be real.”

“Taehyung… I didn’t mean fake yourself,” she replies gently. “I just mean faking confidence. And perhaps with that, you’ll have the confidence to show people who you really are.”

He looks at her in resignation. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s really time to come clean and sort things out for good.” At least faking confidence is something he’s learnt how to do. There were enough pages about it in his audition technique book for him to have mastered it by now.

“Once it’s out in the open, you can’t worry about it anymore,” his mother reminds him. She then stands up, brushing herself off and making towards the door. “How does lasagne sound for dinner?”

“Great, thanks,” Taehyung smiles, overwhelmingly relieved that his mother can ask him about something as trivial as lasagne after the conversation they’ve just had.

“I’ll let you know when it’s ready,” she says kindly before heading out of Taehyung’s room and closing the door behind her.

 

***

 

Dinner is just as awkward as Taehyung originally predicted, but not for the reasons he expected. Instead, his parents are behaving completely normally and Taehyung is the one creating the awkward atmosphere. He’s staring at his food, barely even eating as he listens to his parents discussing work, like their own son didn’t just come out to them this afternoon.

Eventually Taehyung’s mother gets his attention by asking, “Taehyung? Do you not like it? You’ve hardly touched your food.”

Taehyung gulps, setting his knife and fork down as he looks at them in bewilderment. “Why are you acting so normal?” he asks. “Did you _hear_ me when I said I was gay? I thought – I thought this would _change_ things, at least for a couple of days, but it’s like I never even said anything at all.” He feels like he’s complaining now; his voice far too whiny considering the situation. He obviously doesn’t _want_ things to be different, but the fact that things haven’t changed at all is making him so _confused_.

Taehyung’s father looks at him disapprovingly. “Taehyung, I know you want to be an actor, but don’t you think you’re being a little overdramatic? You’re our son and we love you unconditionally. Now eat your lasagne.”

Taehyung blushes, feeling a little embarrassed, but still he picks up his knife and fork again and starts eating, properly this time.

Because maybe Taehyung being gay doesn’t have to change things at all. Maybe it’s all inside his head.

And maybe it’s time to start taking his mother’s advice seriously. Maybe it’s really time to win Jungkook back.

 

***

 

Junghwa grabs her bright pink lipstick and quickly swipes it over her lips, before grabbing her handbag. “Hurry up, guys!” she calls to her friends once she’s in the hallway, waiting by the front door for her flatmates to surface from their rooms. “There’s being fashionably late, and then there’s being _actually_ late.”

Seolhyun walks into the hallway, rolling her eyes at Junghwa as she ties her hair up into a ponytail. “My hair is refusing to listen to me today,” she complains. “I’m giving up.”

Junghwa laughs. “You look fine. Relax.”

“ _Fine_ is not good enough,” Seolhyun argues. “Hyerin deserves _amazing_.”

“I don’t think Hyerin will care how you did your hair,” Hwasa laughs as she surfaces from her room. She then spins around in a circle, showing off her outfit. “How do I look?”

Junghwa and Seolhyun are in the middle of showering her with praise when the doorbell rings.

“Can you guys get that?” Junghwa asks, already heading back into her room. “I just realised I forgot to put my lipstick in my bag.”

“Now you’re the one making us _actually late_ ,” Seolhyun teases her as Hwasa answers the door.

“Um – can I help you?” Hwasa asks with a confused but polite smile when she sees a teenage boy staring back at her.

The boy blinks. “Is Junghwa here?”

Seolhyun peers round to see who it is, her eyes widening in recognition. “I’ve seen you video chatting her before!” she says with a bright smile. “It’s good to finally meet you in person.”

The boy blinks again, almost like he’s trying to blink back tears, and that’s the moment Seolhyun notices how puffy his eyes are. “You too,” he says quietly.

“Junghwa, there’s someone here to see you!” Hwasa shouts behind her.

Junghwa leaves her room, lipstick safely in her bag, and does a double-take when she sees who’s at the door. “Jungkook,” she says in surprise. She looks at her friends uncertainly – and it’s only at this point that Jungkook realises he’s been completely impulsive and inconsiderate.

“Shit, I should’ve called,” he says, his eyes wide.

“No, it’s okay,” Junghwa assures him. “Come in.”

Seolhyun and Hwasa obediently step aside as Jungkook enters the flat hesitantly. “But you hate last minute arrangements,” he says sadly. “I’m sorry, I’ll just go – I don’t know what I was thinking –”

“Shut up, Hwook,” Junghwa admonishes gently. She leads him further into the hallway, emphasising that she isn’t going to let him leave that easily. “What’s going on? You look really upset.”

Jungkook exhales shakily. “Do you remember V?” he asks hesitantly.

“You mean your boyfriend?” Junghwa says with a raise of her eyebrows.

“That’s the thing.” Jungkook looks down at the ground, his voice incredibly quiet. “He’s kind of… not my boyfriend anymore.”

“Shit, you guys broke up?” she asks worriedly. She looks behind Jungkook to see her friends waiting for her unsurely by the front door. “You guys go on ahead,” she tells them. “Tell Hyerin I’m sorry I couldn’t make it – tell her something important came up.” They nod and leave, and Jungkook looks at Junghwa regretfully.

“I’m sorry for ruining your plans,” he says sadly.

“You’re not ruining anything,” Junghwa says sternly. “You’re never an inconvenience, okay? You’re my top priority.” She looks at his red-rimmed eyes and sighs. “Come on, let’s get you inside,” she says gently. “My bed’s only just big enough for us to both fit on, but that means I’m here for cuddles if you need them.”

Jungkook’s lips lift up into a small smile. “You know I’m not a fan of physical contact.”

“I know. I just feel like you might need it tonight,” she replies. She leads Jungkook back into her small bedroom and quickly clears her assortment of makeup and rejected clothes off the bed and onto the floor, resolving to deal with them later, before fluffing up the pillows and gesturing for Jungkook to sit down. They sit down on the bed with their backs against the wall and Junghwa looks at him softly. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Jungkook gulps. “Well. I’m not really sure what happened,” he admits. “I mean, we went to the dance together –”

“Wait, you actually went to the dance together?” Junghwa interrupts.

“Yeah,” Jungkook says, frowning. “I told you we were going to.”

“Well you _did_ ,” Junghwa says, still in shock, “but that was before the whole car chase debacle. I’m surprised he still wanted to go with you after he found out those people from your school were trying to out him.”

Jungkook shrugs sadly. “Well, we went together. We pretended it was just as friends, and the other Pink Ladies and T-Birds paired off too so it looked natural, but we were there together.” He gulps again. “We were meant to be, at least. He held my hand in front of everyone and we danced together and everything was going so _well_.” His gaze flits down to the floor for a second, like he’s trying to gather his thoughts, before he looks up again. “But we weren’t allowed to dance together for the dance competition because they don’t allow same-sex pairings –”

“What the fuck?” Junghwa interrupts him. “This isn’t the 1980s.”

“That’s what I said!” Jungkook says emphatically.

Junghwa smiles slightly. “We spend too much time together. Anyway, carry on.”

“Well,” Jungkook gulps. “We couldn’t dance together, so he paired up with a girl he used to date instead. And then he spent basically the whole night with her instead of me.”

Junghwa raises an eyebrow. “So… what happened next?”

“Well. I got jealous of him spending the night with her when we’d gone _together_ and he said that – that we should leave and spend some time together away from the school. Which sounded great, but then he said we’d have to leave separately because I’m gay so he couldn’t be seen with me.” He looks at Junghwa sadly, who still seems confused. “Don’t you get it, Hwook?” he asks insistently. “My own _boyfriend_ didn’t want to be seen with me, just because I’m gay. It’s like when people found out at my old school and everyone started avoiding me. And to see someone doing the same thing when they’re the one who’s supposed to care the most…” He stares down at his lap to avoid Junghwa’s gaze, watching his fingers as they fidget nervously. “So. I broke things off.”

Junghwa frowns, trying to understand. “And… do you feel happier without him?” she asks carefully.

Jungkook scoffs. “God, no. I’ve been miserable ever since. It’s only been a week and I miss him like crazy,” he sighs, defeated. “I feel pathetic. But, I mean, that’s the way with breakups, right?” he asks hopefully. “You’re upset for a month but then you realise you’re better off without them.”

“Sure, but only if you actually _want_ to break up,” Junghwa says slowly. “Otherwise, it can take a lot longer to get over someone. And the process only starts taking place when you realise that they didn’t want to be with you anymore.” She looks at Jungkook apprehensively. “Have you spoken to V since?”

“Not properly,” Jungkook mumbles. “He… he rang me a couple days after. But he was really drunk and he doesn’t even remember what he said.”

“Do you?” Junghwa prompts.

Jungkook nods. “He told me he was sorry, that he doesn’t want me to leave him, but – but this is better,” he says determinedly, trying to convince himself more than he’s trying to convince Junghwa. “It was too much pressure on him, knowing that anyone could find out at any moment. Without me there to ruin things, he can just wait until he’s ready. This is what he wants.”

Junghwa shakes her head. “Not from the sounds of it. Couldn’t he still be outed, anyway?”

Jungkook shakes his head in return. “He won the race yesterday. He’ll be fine.”

“So you broke up with him _before_ the race, because you wanted him to wait until he was ready. Even though he could’ve still been forced to come out before he was ready, if they lost?” she asks him incredulously.

“Don’t say it like that,” Jungkook snaps, a sinking feeling in his chest. “You’re making me feel like shit.”

“I’m not _making_ you feel anything,” Junghwa argues. “If you feel guilty, that’s on you.” She sighs. “Anyway, he already said this isn’t what he wants. He told you what he _wants_ is for you to stay.”

“He was drunk when he said that,” Jungkook grumbles.

“Which means he was being honest,” Junghwa points out. She sighs. “Is there more to the story or is that it?”

“I guess that’s it,” Jungkook answers. “Advice?”

Junghwa looks at him sternly. “Brace yourself.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows but nods for her to continue.

“Jungkook, you are _such_ an idiot,” she complains.

“Hey!” Jungkook protests.

“Shh now. Junghwa is talking,” she says condescendingly.

“What have I told you about referring to yourself in the third person?” he mutters, but Junghwa zips her lips demonstratively and Jungkook obediently snaps his mouth shut.

“Jungkook – here’s how I see it,” she states. “This V guy, he isn’t out yet – so that was a brave move for him to still take you to the dance. And from the sounds of it, you guys were having a pretty good night before he started dancing with someone else. Which he did because he wasn’t _allowed_ to dance with a boy for the competition, and you got jealous and overreacted. And then, when he didn’t want to make a scene at the last school event he’ll _ever_ attend – on the _final_ time you would have to be so secretive – you got triggered by some stupid shit that had nothing to do with him in the first place. And then you left him, because you don’t want to deal with your own feelings.” She looks at him triumphantly, proud of her psychoanalysis skills.

Jungkook stares at her indignantly. “I did not come here to be attacked.”

She rolls her eyes. “Put yourself back in the place you were in last year and think about it.”

Jungkook scowls and turns away from Junghwa. “I don’t want to.”

“You have to!” Junghwa insists. “Look, I know you don’t like thinking about it because it’s painful. Hell, you didn’t even tell _me_ what happened and I had to hear the details from your mother. But just try to remember how scared you were about people finding out.”

Jungkook gulps and looks down at the floor, choosing to remain silent, because he can remember it perfectly. The day he came out to his friend Jinsoo was one of the scariest days of his life, and the next day when people started whispering about him and laughing at him and mocking him was one of the worst. “I remember,” he says quietly.

“V is in that place now,” she says gently. “He shouldn’t have to be scared, especially when all of your close friends are accepting or LGBT themselves, but he’s still terrified. And the only real coming out experience he knows is yours, which resulted in everything he’s afraid of.” She pokes him, making him look up at her. “And even knowing all of that, he still wants to be with you.” She then slaps him lightly on the arm. “And you have the nerve to get mad at him for it?! You need to apologise, Hwook. Pronto.”

Jungkook feels his heart sink as he lets out a pitiful groan. “Holy shit, is this _my_ fault?”

“Largely,” Junghwa shrugs. “At least from what I can tell, anyway. My deductive skills are very impressive, but I wasn’t actually there.”

Jungkook rests the back of his head against the wall. “You really think I projected my insecurities from the bullying last year onto my relationship?”

“I think that’s exactly what happened,” Junghwa says softly.

“I can’t believe this,” Jungkook sighs. “I’m so used to him being the one to mess things up, but this time it was me.”

Junghwa sighs. “Cut yourself some slack; he’s made mistakes too. And telling you he didn’t want to be seen leaving with you was a serious step too far. But you still need to apologise to him.” She looks at him sternly. “Before you do that, though, you need to _forgive_ him – and most importantly, you need to accept yourself.”

Jungkook frowns. “What are you talking about? Of course I accept myself.”

“You’re lying,” Junghwa states. “ _Think_ , Jungkook. Just a couple of minutes ago you told me that you broke up with your boyfriend because he didn’t want to be seen with you, because you’re gay.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s your _boyfriend._ He wouldn’t be _with_ you if you weren’t gay.”

Jungkook sighs tiredly. “Okay, I get your point.” He looks at her, his expression fatigued and regretful. “Can I crash here tonight? I’m exhausted.”

Junghwa smiles. “If I said no, where would you go?”

“Home?” Jungkook suggests tentatively.

“At this time?” Junghwa scoffs. “Even if the trains were still running, you’d probably get abducted and killed on your way back if you tried to leave now,” she says chirpily.

“You have such a positive outlook on life,” Jungkook deadpans.

“City life shelters no one,” she responds knowledgeably. “But anyway, yeah, you can sleep here. It’ll be a bit squished with both of us in the bed so I can go on the floor with some blankets if that’d make you feel better.”

Jungkook looks at her nervously. “Hwook, is the option still there for cuddles tonight?”

Junghwa grins and ruffles Jungkook’s hair. He squirms away from her touch, but he still lets her settle her hand on his arm. “Of course it is. Do you have overnight stuff with you?”

“Yeah, I packed a bag,” Jungkook mumbles, gesturing to the foot of the bed where he put his things.

“You can get changed in here; I’m going to the bathroom to take off my makeup,” Junghwa announces. And with that, she gets up off the bed and leaves Jungkook alone with his thoughts.

Jungkook opens up his bag and hesitantly gets out the t-shirt he brought with him. It’s one of Taehyung’s shirts that he never gave back. It doesn’t smell like him anymore – Jungkook has worn it and washed it too many times for it to still smell the same – but it comforts Jungkook, knowing that he has a piece of Taehyung with him.

He changes into his pyjama trousers and Taehyung’s t-shirt and climbs under the covers, waiting for Junghwa to get back.

When she does, she’s also dressed in her pyjamas and she climbs into bed next to him, pulling the covers around them tightly. “I didn’t know you had any shirts like that,” she comments offhandedly as she notices Jungkook’s choice of clothing.

“It’s… not mine,” he admits reluctantly.

“Oh, Hwook,” she sighs, her expression sad and sympathetic. “We’ll talk things through tomorrow and get it all sorted out, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Jungkook says quietly. He snuggles into the pillows, relaxing a little when Junghwa puts an arm round him. “Goodnight, Junghwa,” he says quietly, closing his eyes.

She smiles gently in response, resting her head on his shoulder and cuddling into him. “Goodnight, Jungkook.”

 

***

 

On Sunday morning, Taehyung finds himself outside Jungkook’s house, knocking on the front door insistently. He’s determined to sort things out and, well, there’s no time like the present.

“Jungkook, come on,” he shouts impatiently, his voice already getting hoarse from how long he’s been stood out here trying to get Jungkook’s attention. “We have to talk about this.”

He’s met with silence and determinedly rings the doorbell again, for what must be the fifth time by now.

“Please open the door,” he complains, resting his head against the front door when there’s no reply. “You know we can’t break up without you _telling_ me, right? You can’t just freeze me out like this!”

Eventually Taehyung hears what sounds like a deadbolt being pushed aside, and he stands back from the door and holds his breath, _waiting_ , until –

Jungkook’s father stares at him, looking thoroughly unimpressed. He’s clad in reading glasses and a dressing gown, like he’s just woken up, and Taehyung gulps.

“He’s not here, Taehyung,” Mr Jeon sighs.

Taehyung feels his mood plummet, unable to process anything besides his sheer disappointment. His voice is much more subdued when he asks, “Tell him I stopped by? Please?”

Jungkook’s father nods, and Taehyung exhales shakily.

“Sorry for disturbing you,” Taehyung mumbles before he turns around, walking away.

 

***

 

“First things first,” Junghwa begins decisively once they’ve had breakfast, “do you want to get back together with him?”

Jungkook almost rolls his eyes. “Of course I do. Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t?”

“Sometimes people just need to wallow after a breakup,” Junghwa explains defiantly. “I wanted to make sure.”

“Well, yeah, I want to still be with him,” Jungkook grumbles under his breath. “But I’m _not_ , so what good is that?”

“He probably wants to get back together with you too,” Junghwa explains patiently.

“What makes you so sure?” Jungkook says sadly.

“Jungkook,” she sighs tiredly. “Tell me, in all of the time you’ve been seeing each other, or whatever the hell you like to call it, how many times have you got back together after breaking up?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Just because we always got back together before doesn’t mean it’ll happen again.”

Junghwa nods, acknowledging his point. “Okay, then think about this,” she begins. “Every time things ended between you, who was the one to break things off?”

Jungkook frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s work through it methodically,” Junghwa suggests. “At the end of summer, why did things end?”

“He asked me to stay,” Jungkook says quietly. “But I had to go back home.”

“What about the second time? The time just before I came to visit you and you told me about everything,” she continues.

Jungkook frowns, trying to think all the way back to what happened in October. “Uh, we had a fight; it was kind of mutual… but I guess it was me who said we should give up on it altogether,” he admits reluctantly. “He didn’t want to forget about us, but I basically told him it wasn’t his choice.”

“What about the third time, after New Years?” Junghwa continues, thankfully not saying anything about how disappointed Jungkook seems.

“Okay, that one wasn’t my fault,” Jungkook says insistently. “He kissed someone else, what was I supposed to – _okay_ , that was also me,” he acknowledges when he sees Junghwa’s stern expression. “I told him he had to sort himself out and that I couldn’t stand by him if he was doing things like that. But I stand by that decision.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t have broken up with him, over any of that,” Junghwa agrees, “but it was always you. He did a lot of stupid things, Hwook, but he never left you.”

Jungkook sighs, directing his gaze to the floor. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“And who was the one to make the effort to get back together each time?” she asks gently.

“I don’t _know_ , I –” Jungkook sighs again. “ _Okay,_ let me think it through. When we got back to school… he was the one to ask me out on a date. Then, after you’d visited me, he was the one who kissed me. In front of Bambam, by the way, which was completely awkward but –”

“Don’t get side-tracked,” Junghwa cuts in.

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Then in February, I don’t really know who kissed who, but he was the one to invite me over.” He looks at Junghwa sadly. “It’s not like I didn’t try, any of those times. But he always shut me out and I had to wait until he was ready to let me back in again. It was exhausting.”

“I can imagine,” Junghwa says sympathetically. “But that doesn’t change the fact that he obviously really cares about you. That has to count for something, Jungkook.”

“You’re right,” Jungkook says quietly. “It has to.” He looks at Junghwa apprehensively. “I don’t know what I would do if he didn’t come back this time, Hwook. I… I – I really like him. A lot,” he says decisively.

Junghwa frowns at him. “Jungkook… you know you’re in love with him, right?” she asks carefully.

Jungkook gulps at her words, but then he sighs. “Yeah, I know,” he says quietly. It wasn’t something he wanted to admit to himself, especially since things ended – but he supposes that in some ways, after all they’ve been through, falling in love with Taehyung was inevitable.

“So what are you going to do?” she asks softly.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook says tiredly. “I know I have to talk to him, but I don’t even know what to say.” He looks at Junghwa anxiously. “Hwook, what if I’ve already left it too late?”

“Thinking like that won’t help anything,” Junghwa admonishes gently. “Come on, get out your phone and we can draft a message to him.”

Jungkook gets out his phone and spends the next half an hour or so arguing with Junghwa over what he should say in the text to get Taehyung to want to talk things through with him.

“You’re being too picky!” Junghwa complains, stealing the phone from him again as she starts typing. “All you have to do is look at the texts he’s sent you to know that he wants to talk. It’s not that _hard_ –”

“That was before we talked on the phone,” Jungkook argues back. “He hasn’t texted me since. I just – fuck, I feel so inadequate,” he whinges as he grabs his phone again, deleting the half-written message on the screen and locking his phone in defeat.

“Maybe just try again tomorrow,” Junghwa sighs, giving up on convincing him for the time being. “It seriously doesn’t have to be difficult though. You just need to get him to talk to you in person and then you’ll be able to express yourself properly.”

Jungkook cocks an eyebrow. “Have you met me?”

Junghwa rolls her eyes. “Stop it. You’ll be fine.” She checks the time on her phone. “Didn’t you tell your parents you’d be back in the afternoon? We should probably think about getting you back soon. Do you want to pack your bags and then we can head out for lunch?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Jungkook agrees, sighing as he pockets his phone. “Thanks for all your help, by the way.”

“Any time,” Junghwa smiles. She then looks at him sternly. “And I mean that, Jungkook. Never apologise for coming to see me. You’re the most important person in the world, you got that?”

Jungkook feels a grin spreading across his face. “With that sort of encouragement, it’s amazing I’m not more arrogant.”

Junghwa laughs. “If you’re still not arrogant, then I’m clearly not doing my job properly.” She claps her hands decisively as she stands up. “Alright, let’s get your stuff packed up.” She flicks Jungkook on the forehead when he remains stationary. “Come on, stop moping. You can’t stay here forever.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Fine.”

After he and Junghwa make sure Jungkook’s gathered all his things, they head out to lunch, and it does Jungkook some good to get out of his head a little. He doesn’t try to pretend he’s okay, because he isn’t – and Junghwa already knows why, so she doesn’t question him on it, either. And for the first time since last Friday, Jungkook feels that he’s genuinely enjoying himself. Not in a half-hearted way and not because he’s trying to hide his hurt; simply honestly having a nice time with his best friend.

Junghwa encourages him to focus on going back to school tomorrow and getting back into a regular schedule, and they plan a video chat for next Saturday so that they can have another discussion on how to sort out Jungkook’s love life. And even though things with said love life are just as uncertain as they were yesterday, he feels better about it today. Because even if he doesn’t manage to sort things out with Taehyung, even if all of this is beyond fixable, he knows that Junghwa’s friendship is one thing he’ll always have. For now, somehow, that feels like enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hyerin finally got a mention lol
> 
> I don’t think I’ve said this enough but I genuinely appreciate everyone who’s taking the time to read this fic. thank you so much for sticking with me for so long ^.^ only a few chapters to go now woahhh


	41. my heart is saying ‘don’t let go’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you already know what this is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last chapter I posted got a lot more feedback than I expected and I really want to say thank you for your kind comments!! <3 they make me so motivated to write more, so I finished this chapter much earlier than I expected to. I’m excited for this one ahhh hope you enjoy!!

“Hey, honey, how are you feeling?” Jungkook’s mother asks him softly on Monday morning, poking her head round the door to see Jungkook still tucked in bed. “Are you up for going to school today?”

Jungkook chuckles quietly. “I’m not sure a breakup can really justify missing a day of school,” he points out. The words feel heavy on his tongue.

“If you’re not feeling well, you’re not feeling well,” she argues. She walks closer to him, smoothing out his hair once she’s close enough. Once his fringe is out of his eyes, he sees her looking at him sympathetically. “But as long as you think you’ll be okay.”

Jungkook nods. “It will be good to take my mind off it.”

“Did it help seeing Junghwa at the weekend?” she continues.

Jungkook smiles slightly. “It did, actually. We talked things over, and she also took me out for lunch. It was the first time since…” He trails off, not wanting to say the words. “…that I felt I was properly having fun, without faking it,” he finishes softly.

His mother smiles at him comfortingly. “That’s good to hear. Now, I don’t know if it will help to hear this or make it worse, but I think you should know… Taehyung stopped by while you were away.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “He did? What did he say?”

“I don’t know; it was your father who answered the door,” she replies. “All I know is that he wanted you to know he came to see you.”

Jungkook gulps. “I, uh. Thanks for telling me.” He decisively throws the covers off his body and gets out of bed, turning to his wardrobe so he doesn’t have to look his mother in the face, not sure what emotions would be shown there. “I’d better get ready for school.”

“Okay,” she responds, seeming to understand his need for privacy. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do. Thanks mum.”

 

***

 

Jungkook follows his plan – focusing on school and his studies rather than letting his mind wander. It isn’t as hard as he imagined it would be, perhaps because he knows that this is only a temporary solution. He’ll talk to Junghwa at the weekend and figure out what to do about Taehyung, but until then, life has to go on.

Life is going on just fine until Tuesday, when Jungkook gets home from school. Because Taehyung is sat outside his house, just beside the front door, like he’s been waiting for him to get back. And maybe that image alone gives Jungkook more hope for the future than he’d like to admit.

“Hi,” Taehyung says awkwardly, standing up and stretching his legs.

“How long have you been here?” Jungkook asks, in shock.

Taehyung grimaces. “About an hour. I keep forgetting you have school.”

Jungkook frowns at him. “You should be revising.” He doesn’t intend it in a mean way. It’s simply concern, because he knows how important it is to Taehyung to get into his top choice drama school – which won’t happen if he doesn’t study.

Jungkook feels a small burst of excitement at the thought of Taehyung getting in. He knows how prestigious the drama school is, and when he visited it at the weekend, he couldn’t help but feel that it would be the perfect place for him. He admits it was a strange thought to come into his mind, especially when he was only there to ask Junghwa for advice on how to get over Taehyung. An advice session that turned from _how to get over him_ to _how to get him back_.

Taehyung doesn’t hesitate in his reply. “This is more important. You’re more important.” There’s a pause as Jungkook gets out his keys and puts them in the door, fumbling with them slightly as he feels Taehyung’s eyes on him. “Can we talk? Please?”

Jungkook gulps. “I – you kind of caught me off guard,” he admits. “I have homework to do, I have stuff on my mind, there’s dance practice tonight, I’m kind of busy –” He cuts himself off, hoping he doesn’t sound like he’s trying to avoid him. Even though he knows that’s technically what he’s doing. But he’s just flustered. This wasn’t in the _plan –_ he’s not ready to talk yet. “Another time?” he adds, turning back to Taehyung somewhat desperately.

Taehyung nods energetically. “How about Friday afternoon? After school? That way you’ll still have the weekend to do your homework and stuff, right?”

Maybe Jungkook is thrown off by the enthusiasm in Taehyung’s voice, or maybe the shock of finding him waiting outside his house is still lingering; but either way something makes Jungkook fumble with his keys again until they drop from his hands and onto the floor.

They both lean down automatically to pick them up, their hands brushing for a fraction of a section, and Jungkook inhales sharply. Taehyung picks up the keys and steps back, putting some distance between them, before he holds out his hand for Jungkook to take his keys.

“Thanks,” Jungkook says, his voice small.

“Friday afternoon, at 5pm?” Taehyung asks hopefully.

“I need to check if I’m free,” Jungkook says honestly. His brain isn’t cooperating enough right now to remember his schedule.

“Okay,” Taehyung says easily. “Text me if you want to do a different day or time; I’m free all weekend. Just let me know.” There’s a pause as Jungkook opens the front door and walks inside. “If I don’t hear anything from you, I’ll be waiting in the park at 5pm on Friday,” Taehyung adds.

Jungkook nods dumbly and shuts the door.

 

***

 

Admittedly, Taehyung’s plan of ambushing Jungkook at his home and demanding to talk probably wasn’t his smartest idea. But at least now he has a few days to plan out his apology properly. He remembers Jungkook talking to him before about how proper apologies aren’t generic, but instead are specialised to the other person. So Taehyung thinks back on everything he knows Jungkook likes – but no amount of superhero merch, Tori Kelly CDs or vanilla ice cream seems like enough to show Jungkook how much he really cares.

So Taehyung forms a new plan. He spends Tuesday night and Wednesday morning revising – despite needing to win Jungkook back, he does also need to get good grades in his exams – but once his exam is over on Wednesday afternoon, he goes to the café. He sits down at an empty table, already getting up some search tabs on his phone to find a good present for Jungkook. It has to be something meaningful; something genuine.

“Hey V,” a familiar voice says, and he looks up in surprise to see LE standing next to the table, notepad in hand.

“I didn’t know you were working today,” he responds.

LE shrugs. “They asked for overtime, and I hate being at home.” She gestures to the menu on the table. “You ready to order?”

V starts to shake his head, but then he changes his mind and decisively hands her the menu. “I’ll take a vanilla milkshake.” Maybe it will help get him in the right headspace.

LE shoots him a strange look, probably because he’s never ordered a vanilla milkshake as long as she’s known him, always tending to go for the more obscure flavours. But she still writes it down in her notepad without question. “Anything else?”

V shakes his head. “Not right now, thanks.”

He spends the next few minutes searching for gift ideas online, and just when he thinks he’s found the _perfect_ thing, LE returns to his table. She’s looking at the glass in her hand in confusion – and rightly so, because when it’s placed on the table in front of him, he sees that the drink is pink.

“You ordered vanilla, right?” LE says, just to confirm.

“Yeah,” V says with a frown. He still takes a sip of his drink, then looks at LE questioningly. “This is strawberry.”

LE sighs exasperatedly, already reaching to take the glass back. “We got somebody new in recently to help with the drinks orders, and he keeps fucking things up. This is the fifth order I’ve had to return today, it’s actually ridiculous. I actually feel kind of bad for him, which isn’t like me – but the pressure is clearly getting to him.”

V laughs. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll just have strawberry. No big deal.”

“He has to learn,” LE argues. “Most customers won’t just put up with what they’re given.”

“I’m not most customers,” V retorts.

LE raises an eyebrow. “Why are you being nice? It’s not like you.”

V smirks. “I’m trying out something new. Seriously,” he adds when LE doesn’t let go of his glass. “I don’t mind. It’s not really about the drink, anyway.”

Now both of LE’s eyebrows are raised. “What’s it about, then?”

“I’m channelling my inner Jungkook,” V announces proudly.

LE laughs in surprise. “Your inner _what?_ You’re insane.” But she still lets go of the glass, stepping back to a respectable distance.

V grins. “Maybe. But I need to win him back somehow. Anyway, I think he ordered strawberry last time. Maybe his preference has changed.”

LE shrugs. “Maybe he just wanted to try it because it’s redder than the other milkshakes. That’s his favourite colour, right?”

“That could be it,” V acknowledges with a laugh.

“Well, I’d better get back to my job. Good luck with whatever you’re trying to do,” she tells him with a smile before disappearing to serve some other customers.

As V sips on his milkshake and continues to investigate the gift he’s found online – mainly checking the price and how quickly it can be delivered – he finds himself wondering whether Jungkook really _did_ try out the strawberry flavour just because of its colour. And then he gets an idea.

 

***

 

“What’s up?” Hoseok asks with a frown when he answers the door.

“I need your help,” V responds urgently.

Hoseok squints at him. “Right now?”

V falters. “Are you busy?”

“You didn’t think to check?” Hoseok sighs, just as Rosé walks into the room.

“What are you doing here?” she accuses.

“I need Hoseok’s help with something,” V explains hesitantly, already feeling guilty for intruding. “It’s kind of an emergency… I’m on a deadline.”

Hoseok looks at V resignedly, seeming to understand the reason behind his request. “When’s it happening?”

“Friday,” V replies, looking at his best friend pleadingly. “If this wasn’t really important to me, I wouldn’t be here.”

Hoseok looks at Rosé apologetically. “I think we’re going to have to take a rain check.”

“What?” she says indignantly. “You’re going to desert me for _him_?”

“He really needs my help,” Hoseok explains.

“But we had plans,” Rosé says stubbornly. “He just waltzed in here and demanded your attention. That’s not fair.”

“I’ll make it up to you, Rosie,” he mumbles, kissing her gently on the lips, and she relaxes.

“You’d better,” she grumbles, but then she pecks him on the cheek, picking up her bag and her Pink Lady jacket without complaint. “Text me later,” she orders before heading out the door.

“‘Rosie’?” V smirks, looking at Hoseok with raised eyebrows.

“What?” Hoseok says flatly.

“Nothing,” V shrugs, a playful smile spreading across his face. “Cute nickname.”

“It’s just her name with a different vowel on the end,” Hoseok snaps. “At least I don’t call her the same thing all her friends do, like you did.”

“‘Ro’ suits her,” V says defensively. “‘Rosie’ sounds too pretty and flowery for someone so feisty.”

“She _is_ pretty,” Hoseok argues. “And she can be really sweet when she wants to. In fact, she’s a fair bit more pleasant any time she’s away from you.”

V rolls his eyes. “Okay, _fine_. Look, I didn’t come here to have a fight with you about my ex.”

“What _did_ you come here for?” Hoseok asks, inviting V to sit down in the living room.

“I need to impress Jungkook,” V answers decisively as he plops himself down on the sofa. “And I need your help to do it.”

Hoseok raises his eyebrows. “You need to _impress_ him?”

“I just –” He sighs, frustrated. “I need to show him that I care. That I can be committed and… I need to dye my hair red.”

Hoseok stares at him in shock, then laughs out loud. “Why the fuck do you think that will make a difference?”

“It’s his favourite colour,” V says stubbornly. “And we had this conversation about my hair and how it signified our relationship and… it’s, um, hard to explain,” he admits, a little embarrassed. “But I think if I dye my hair, it’ll prove that I’m willing to be more open about him and our relationship, you know?”

“You sound completely crazy,” Hoseok states. “But… fine, if that’s what you want to do. I told you I’m here for you and I’m going to stand by that – no matter how stupid your ideas are.” He looks at his best friend desperately. “But _please_ tell me you’re planning something better than just dyeing your hair red and hoping for the best.”

V smiles. “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

 

***

 

Friday comes around much more quickly than Jungkook expects it to, and soon enough he’s at home getting changed into clothes that he hopes will impress Taehyung. He knows it’s ridiculous, but it feels like he’s back to square one; trying to dress up for a first date or something. He knows that Taehyung finds him attractive, but somehow it feels important to make an effort today.

“So, you’re a straight girl,” Jungkook says, posing for Junghwa as she silently judges him through his laptop. “How attractive do I look in this?”

“Just as attractive as you looked in the last outfit,” Junghwa says tiredly. “All of your t-shirts look the same, I’m telling you.”

“You’re supposed to be interested in fashion,” Jungkook accuses.

“Stop forcing gender stereotypes on me!” Junghwa argues back.

Jungkook sighs. “Don’t _yell_ at me, I’m _nervous_.”

“I know,” Junghwa says, her voice softening. “But you’re going to be late. You need to stop worrying about it and just go. You don’t want to give him the wrong impression and make him think you aren’t coming at all.”

Jungkook fiddles with his t-shirt. “Okay. Wish me luck.”

Junghwa rolls her eyes. “Good luck. Not that you need it. Text me when you get back home, okay?”

“Okay, _mum_ ,” Jungkook says pointedly, partly because he knows it will make her annoyed.

Junghwa’s offended cry of _“Mum?!”_ is cut off by Jungkook ending the video chat. He’s still laughing to himself as he leaves the house.

 

***

 

The walk to the park is okay, but once Jungkook arrives he starts to feel nervous. He really hopes that today will have a good outcome. After Taehyung deliberately sought him out on Tuesday, he’s optimistic that it will, but he’s still anxious about making sure he can express himself properly. He wants Taehyung to know just how much he doesn’t want to mess up what they have again.

He reaches the all-too-familiar clearing in the park and checks the time on his phone – 5:15pm. Junghwa was right when she said that he would be late. He hopes Taehyung is still here.

He walks through the trees, scanning his surroundings hopefully – and then his heart stops. “Wow, your hair,” he says gormlessly, alerting Taehyung of his presence.

Taehyung looks at him in surprise. “Hi. Um. It’s red,” he responds informatively.

“I can see that,” Jungkook says, feeling a little dazed. “Why…?”

“Um,” Taehyung repeats. It feels weird, stood together and yet with so much distance between them. Taehyung wants to reach forward, to close the gap and hold Jungkook in his arms again, but he knows he has to explain himself first. “Well, we had that conversation a few weeks ago, about how my hair was meant to signify…” Taehyung smiles awkwardly when Jungkook’s face shows no recognition of the conversation. “You probably don’t remember. And now I feel like an idiot.”

“I remember,” Jungkook says softly.

Taehyung gulps and takes a step closer towards Jungkook. “I’m surprised you’re here,” he admits.

“Why?” Jungkook replies, a little confused. “You asked me to come.”

“I know,” Taehyung chuckles nervously. “But I didn’t know if you actually would.”

“Right,” Jungkook acknowledges awkwardly.

Taehyung takes a deep breath. “I have a lot to say. The main thing is that I’m sorry… but I have a feeling you know that much already, and I guess me being sorry isn’t really important if I’m going to keep acting the same way. Which I completely understand, so um.” He gulps again, trying to stop his throat from feeling so dry. God, he’s nervous. “I – I’ve been making an effort, you know? Even if it’s – if it’s too late with you, or something.” The words come out more stilted than he wants them to, but he forces himself to speak normally, as if the thought of losing Jungkook doesn’t feel equivalent to ripping his heart out of his chest.

“Taehyung…” Jungkook starts, but Taehyung shakes his head.

“Please, let me speak,” he says desperately. “I – I told my mum, by the way. About me; and about you… about us.”

Jungkook’s heartbeat quickens, his eyes widening. “What did she say?” he asks carefully.

Taehyung smiles slightly. “She said she already knew.”

Jungkook’s jaw drops. “Were we not careful enough?”

“It’s not that,” Taehyung admits. “Apparently I told her I was gay when I was 7, and then promptly forgot about it. So all that heartache was for nothing. I feel like a bit of an idiot now, to be honest.”

Jungkook relaxes a little bit at the explanation. “And what did she say about us?”

“She said she could tell from the way I looked at you,” he says softly. “And when I told her how I’d messed things up between us, she told me to just get you back.” He rolls his eyes. “As if it were that simple.”

Jungkook smiles slightly, the words ‘maybe it is’ on the tip of his tongue, but Taehyung is still speaking.

“I know I’ve kept you waiting long enough,” he continues anxiously. “But if you’re willing to give me one final chance… I’m ready, now. I’m ready for people to know. It wasn’t fair of me to make you hide this for so long and –”

“It was my decision too,” Jungkook interjects pointedly.

“I know. But I could see how much it was hurting you,” Taehyung says sadly. “I never meant to do that. I never meant for it to go on so long.”

“You don’t have to say you’re ready if you’re not,” Jungkook replies cautiously. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up.

“I know that too,” Taehyung says with a slight chuckle. “You would never push me into coming out, and I appreciate that. But I mean it. I didn’t realise how much I needed my parents to know. Now they do, it feels easier. Telling them went so much better than I thought it would and… it’s time. Oh, before I forget –” He cuts himself off, reaching into his pocket for something, and when he pulls it out, Jungkook gapes. “Um, you know how last time I gave you jewellery, you started freaking out until I told you it wasn’t a ring?” He hands over the jewellery box to Jungkook nervously. “Well, just – don’t freak out. I’ll explain once you’ve looked inside.”

Jungkook’s eyes are wide when he opens the box to find a gold ring. It’s understated, enough so that he could wear it every day without attracting unnecessary attention, but the simple knot in the centre makes it look more special. It’s definitely something he would want to wear even if it had no sentimental value to him, and the thought of Taehyung going out of his way to buy it for him has his heart skipping several beats in his chest. “What…?” he begins.

“It’s a promise ring,” Taehyung explains. “If you ever doubt what we have, you can look at the ring and remember that it’s a promise; not only that I’ll tell everyone about us, but also a promise to _you._ That I want to be here for you, for as long as possible.” He blushes. “I guess it’s pretty presumptuous of me to show this to you now, and I can’t just expect you to take me back like that, but if you’ll let me prove it –”

“I’ll wear it,” Jungkook interrupts.

Taehyung blinks at him. “You will?”

Jungkook gulps. “I, um.” His grip tightens on the jewellery box. “When you invited me here… I wanted to apologise to you too.”

Taehyung frowns. “For what?”

“I never realised how much baggage I was carrying around from the whole bullying thing,” he explains nervously. “I talked to Junghwa and… I guess she helped me realise that I was projecting it onto you.”

“Jungkook, you don’t have to apologise for that,” Taehyung says gently, but Jungkook shakes his head.

“No, I do,” he insists. “I took it out on you when it’s my own issues that got in the way. And – and I freaked out, because it felt like a repeat of last year, when that’s ridiculous. You would never treat me like that and it was unfair to suggest you would.” He breathes out shakily. “And I’m really, really sorry.”

“I never meant to make you feel that way,” Taehyung says seriously. “I should’ve realised how the secrecy was affecting you, but I really didn’t mean to make you feel unwanted or unappreciated or unworthy or _anything_ like that.”

“I know,” Jungkook responds softly. “You didn’t. It was never you – it was just… I don’t know. Me holding onto something I thought I’d already let go of.” He takes in a deep breath. “Can I put it on now?” he asks then, passing the jewellery box back to Taehyung to emphasise his point.

Taehyung smiles shyly, taking the ring out of its box and putting it on the fourth finger of Jungkook’s right hand. “I know it’s meant to be on your ring finger,” he says anxiously, “but before the others know –”

“It’s fine here,” Jungkook says with a smile. “Seriously, stop freaking out. You’re fine – we’re fine. Don’t be nervous. You’ll make _me_ nervous.”

“I think you must be nervous already; you’re rambling again,” Taehyung jokes.

And Jungkook laughs, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. They’re starting to talk like normal again, and everything is falling back into place.

Taehyung smiles happily. “I’m so happy you like it. I actually bought one for myself, too – a matching one. I felt I had some things to promise to myself, too,” he explains, putting the empty jewellery box back in his pocket and then tentatively taking Jungkook’s hands in his, threading their fingers together. The ring is cold against Taehyung’s fingers.

Jungkook squeezes his hands gently, letting him know he’s listening and Taehyung’s heart threatens to burst. He really missed this.

“It’s a promise to myself; that I’m going to accept myself and be more open around people,” Taehyung continues, “but it also means that once everyone knows, I can wear mine out in public too. Kind of like couple rings.”

“You completely stole my idea about the couple jackets,” Jungkook grins.

Taehyung laughs. “Maybe. In a few months’ time we’ll have completely matching outfits and accessories – we’ll practically be the same person.”

Jungkook snorts. “You’re such a weirdo.”

“Says you,” Taehyung teases. “Hey, by the way,” he says, his voice a little more serious. “I wondered if you wanted to tell Jimin about us? Before I tell the others.”

Jungkook blinks. “You want to?”

“Well, I mean,” Taehyung says, starting to stumble over his words a little bit, “it doesn’t have to be him, but… J-Hope and LE are great, but they’re more my friends than they are yours. And I figured you might want to tell Jimin before I announced it to everyone else, so that he doesn’t get caught off guard, or get offended he didn’t know.”

Jungkook chuckles. “It would be just like Jimin to be offended by it. Are you sure about this, though? Are you _sure_ you’re ready?”

“I’m positive,” Taehyung answers, “I’m done hiding from everyone.” He squeezes Jungkook’s hands in his, loving how they fit so well together, and his smile widens when Jungkook squeezes back. “Anyway, as for Jimin… I can be there when you tell him if you want me to, but I know he’s more comfortable around you.”

Jungkook hums thoughtfully. “I think I’d rather tell him on my own. He knows I’ve been keeping something from him lately. It makes more sense to explain it to him myself, and I don’t want him to feel like we’re ganging up on him or anything.”

“That’s what I thought,” Taehyung agrees.

“So…” Jungkook says nervously. “That’s it, then? We’re back together?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung says, unable to stop himself smiling. “If you want to be.”

“I want to be,” Jungkook agrees quickly, squeezing Taehyung’s hands tighter, and Taehyung disconnects their hands to pull him into a hug. “I’ve wanted to be back with you ever since I called things off,” Jungkook admits with a quiet chuckle, burying his face in Taehyung’s neck.

“That makes two of us, then,” Taehyung smiles as he feels another weight lift off his chest. “I’m so relieved you’re back,” he admits. “I’ve missed your hugs.”

Jungkook laughs. “Me too.”

Taehyung pulls back a bit so that he can look Jungkook in the eyes. “So, what else have I missed in the last two weeks, other than your hugs? What have you been up to?”

Jungkook smiles at the phrasing. “Not a whole lot, to be honest. I stayed at home for most of the holidays and then I’ve been at school all week. Oh, I went to see Junghwa at the weekend, too.”

Taehyung hums in acknowledgement. “So that’s why you weren’t at home. To be honest, I wondered if your dad was lying about you not being home just because you didn’t want to see me.”

“And even thinking that, you still waited outside my house to catch me after school?” Jungkook asks teasingly.

“I don’t give up that easily,” Taehyung grins.

Jungkook grins back. “I’m glad you don’t. I’m glad you kept trying.” He impulsively leans in to kiss Taehyung on the cheek, and when he pulls back he can feel his cheeks burning. (He wonders passively why he always has to blush at the most simple things.) “Tell me about you.”

Taehyung pecks Jungkook on the cheek in response, because he can’t resist. “Okay,” he says decisively, before he can get side-tracked with any more kisses. “Well… I basically spent last week thinking about you and about the car race. Me and J-Hope got a bit of extra driving practice in on Thursday, which is just as well because I ended up driving in the end. Did you know that? I mean, I’m guessing the Pink Ladies told you what happened, but…”

“I knew,” Jungkook says. “I watched the race.”

Taehyung looks at him in surprise. “You did?”

Jungkook smiles awkwardly. “I stayed inside Jimin’s car so you wouldn’t see me, but I still came to see it. You did really well, by the way.”

Taehyung’s expression softens and he smiles softly at Jungkook. “I’m so happy you were there.”

Jungkook frowns in confusion. “Why? You didn’t know I was there; it’s not like it makes a difference.”

“But it does,” Taehyung insists. “Because if things had been different… if those pricks had managed to out me before the race like they were trying to do, or if we’d lost… you would’ve been there for me. I know you would. And that makes all the difference.”

Jungkook kisses him gently on the lips. And – wow, he’s really missed this. He lingers a little before pulling away, but once they’ve separated, he says quietly, “I’m sorry for leaving you when things got difficult.”

Taehyung hums. “I’m sorry I keep pushing you away.”

Jungkook smiles. “I think maybe we should stop apologising for things when we don’t need to.”

Taehyung kisses him this time. “Are we okay?” he asks when Jungkook pulls back.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Jungkook answers with confidence. “More than good, actually. We’re incredible. God, I’ve missed you.”

Taehyung grins. “I’ve missed you too.” He kisses Jungkook again, because he’s _weak_ and because Jungkook is smiling at him like there’s nothing better than being back in Taehyung’s arms and he’s so happy that things are working out okay. “Do you want to come over tomorrow night, maybe? I want you to meet my parents,” he asks hopefully.

Jungkook laughs at the thought. “I’ve met your parents hundreds of times.”

“Yeah, but you’ve only ever met them as Jungkook. I want you to meet them as _my_ Jungkook,” Taehyung smiles. “I want to introduce you as my boyfriend.”

Jungkook’s heart melts a little at Taehyung’s words. “Okay.”

 

***

 

V bangs his fists on the door as loudly as possible until Hoseok answers. V crushes him into a hug before Hoseok even has a chance to say hello. “Thank you,” he says sincerely, his voice muffled by Hoseok’s hair.

Hoseok hugs him back tightly, even if he is slightly bewildered. “So it went well?” he asks when V pulls away.

“Yeah.” V grins; the first genuine smile Hoseok has seen from him since the night of the dance. He strides into the house and gets a glass out of the cupboard, not even bothering to ask Hoseok whether he can come in. “Everything’s worked out. Oh my _God_ , I’m so relieved.”

V goes to the tap and fills his glass up with water, just as Rosé appears in the kitchen. “Hey, who was at the door…?” Her question trails off when she notices an extra person in the room. Today was supposed to be hers and Hoseok’s day together; just the two of them. They’re making up for the time they lost a couple of days ago – the last time V interrupted them.

Rosé glares indignantly at Hoseok and he shrugs helplessly in response. “Sorry. He let himself in.”

V turns around and grins. “Good to see you, Rosé.”

“What the hell did you do to your hair?” she says scornfully in response.

“Nice to know the feeling’s mutual,” V mutters, taking a sip of his water as he leans casually against the kitchen counter.

“It’s bright red,” she accuses.

“Well observed,” V responds with his eyebrows raised.

“You look like a traffic light,” she states.

V chuckles. “You done?”

She rolls her eyes before frowning in thought. “Why that colour?”

V shrugs. “It’s for someone special.” He turns to Hoseok. “Obviously you’re busy, so I’ll let myself out. But – seriously, thank you. I owe you.”

Hoseok grins. “What are best friends for?”

Rosé raises her eyebrows at them, her curiosity getting the better of her. “What did you help him with?” she asks her boyfriend.

Hoseok shrugs. “It wasn’t a big deal,” he answers, blatantly avoiding the question.

“He helped me win back someone I care about,” V explains.

Rosé directs her gaze to V, who smiles softly at her. Rosé can’t remember the last time he smiled like that in her direction, and it’s nice. Maybe it’s also nice to have a conversation with him without being at each other’s throats; or, at least, it makes a pleasant change.

“You care about someone?” Rosé asks, unable to hide her surprise. After their breakup, she figured that V wasn’t capable of having actual _feelings_ for another person. But maybe he’s finally growing up. And maybe she should, too.

“I do,” V agrees, and Rosé finds herself smiling back at him; the first genuine smile she’s directed at him in a while.

“Good,” she says, and she finds that she means it. “I do too,” she adds, and Hoseok grins at her.

“You don’t need to tell me that,” V smirks. It’s evident in the way that Hoseok looks at her as if he’s never seen anyone more beautiful, and the way that Rosé looks back as if nobody else in the world matters. V finishes his glass of water and sets it down on the side before walking over to the front door. “See you guys later,” he calls as he lets himself out.

Hoseok smiles at her. “It must be weird hearing him talk about someone else like that.”

“It’s actually not,” Rosé replies honestly. “I’m happy for him. And whoever she is, as well.”

Hoseok chuckles. “Yeah. I am too. They’re good for each other.”

Rosé raises her eyebrows. “You know her?”

Hoseok shrugs. “Kinda. Anyway, shall we get back to the film?”

Rosé grins. “You mean, shall we get back to our make-out session?”

Hoseok sighs. “You know I _did_ actually want to watch this, right?”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Rosé says pointedly. “Anyway, it’s almost finished now. We can watch it again later, if you want? And actually pay attention this time.”

“I’m not that bothered,” Hoseok grins, and Rosé knows that some bad joke is coming. “I’d rather pay attention to you.”

Rosé rolls her eyes at his antics, but she’s smiling. “That was so cheesy.”

“You act like you don’t love it,” Hoseok laughs.

 

***

 

When Taehyung answers the door on Saturday evening, the first thing he does is kiss Jungkook on the cheek. “Thank you for coming,” he says as he lets Jungkook inside.

“Thank you for inviting me,” Jungkook smiles back. “Where are your parents?”

“In the kitchen, finishing off the food,” Taehyung replies. “They made a lot, actually. I think they got excited I’m finally having someone over for dinner.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Have you never had someone over before? I swear I’ve stayed for dinner before accidentally.”

Taehyung smirks. “Yeah, but it’s different if they get to plan it. Anyway, no one really comes to our house in general.” He shrugs. “Plus there’s the whole ‘knowing you’re actually my boyfriend’ thing. So it’s kind of a big deal to them.”

Jungkook nods, his expression turning a little more serious. “Are you nervous?”

“Honestly?” Taehyung smiles. “No. I mean, I feel kind of jittery, but that’s just because they know I’m gay now and I’m still not used to being _myself_ around them, you know? But I’m excited for them to meet you properly. To see what we’re like together.”

Jungkook nods. “And you’re sure they’re okay with us?”

“Yeah, they are,” Taehyung responds, and he feels so grateful that he can now say that with certainty. “They already really like you. So it’s all going to go just fine.” He raises an eyebrow at Jungkook as he stays in the middle of the room, looking a bit lost. “Come here,” Taehyung says gently, walking over to Jungkook, who lets out a relieved breath when Taehyung wraps his arms around him. “Are _you_ nervous?”

Jungkook laughs embarrassedly. “Yeah, I am. I know I’ve met them before, but this feels different. I don’t know how I’m meant to act, or –”

“Just be yourself,” Taehyung responds gently.

Jungkook sighs. “Yeah, because that always works out so well for me.”

Taehyung frowns. “I like you for _you_. And they will too.” He kisses Jungkook gently on the lips.

“Taehyung, will Jungkook be here soon? The food’s pretty much ready – oh,” Mrs Kim says as she walks into the living room.

Jungkook and Taehyung both blush as they move away from each other.

“Um. He just arrived,” Taehyung says with an embarrassed smile. And okay, maybe he’s a _little_ nervous.

“Hello,” Jungkook says awkwardly.

Mrs Kim smiles kindly. “Hello, Jungkook. It’s good to see you again.”

Jungkook smiles back, although it looks a little forced. “You too.”

“Did you two want to go take a seat at the table?” she continues, signalling for Taehyung to lead Jungkook through to the kitchen. “We’ll put the food out now.”

They sit down side by side, automatically entwining their hands underneath the table, and Taehyung smiles at Jungkook encouragingly as his parents bring over bowls of food. (Somewhere in Jungkook’s mind, he registers that this should really be the other way round, with him offering support to Taehyung. But Taehyung seems fine, and Jungkook has always been the one to get nervous about social gatherings, after all.)

“This looks amazing,” Jungkook says in awe as he looks at the food surrounding them. “It’s like a feast.”

Taehyung chuckles. “I did tell you.”

“We spent all afternoon cooking,” Taehyung’s father explains. “Hopefully it will have been worth it.”

“I’m sure it will be amazing,” Jungkook smiles.

“Don’t touch the plates, they’re hot,” Mrs Kim says as she puts two plates in front of them. Jungkook is about to thank her when she says, “Hands where I can see them, kids. Not at the table.”

Jungkook blushes bright red at the insinuation as Taehyung holds their linked hands up in protest. “We’re just holding hands!” Taehyung insists.

Mrs Kim raises an eyebrow at them. “If you’re just holding hands then why would you feel the need to hide it?” she asks pointedly, then freezes when she realises her mistake.

Both Jungkook and Taehyung now seem uncomfortable as well. “I guess we’ve just got used to hiding,” Jungkook says quietly.

Mr Kim sets down the last of the food on the table and smiles at the two boys apologetically. “Would you like to help yourself to some food, Jungkook?”

Jungkook nods, feeling grateful for the change of topic, and only feeling slightly regretful when Taehyung has to let go of his hand so that he can serve himself. He starts by taking a spoonful of stew, but as he brings the spoon back to his plate he spills some of the sauce on the table. He gulps, looking at the offending sauce anxiously. He doesn’t want to make a mess, and he knows Taehyung’s parents are watching. Fuck, why is he so nervous?

He decides it might be best to bring his plate closer to the stew to avoid any more spillages, but he realises his error as soon as he picks up the plate. Because, just as he was warned, the plate is _hot_ and Jungkook drops it instinctively, watching in horror as it catapults towards the floor. “Fuck,” Jungkook says as the plate smashes into pieces, before looking at Taehyung’s parents in alarm. “Wait, _shit_ , I didn’t mean to swear – I – fuck, I mean –”

“Babe,” Taehyung says gently, touching his arm to help him calm down.

“It’s okay, it’s just a plate,” Taehyung’s mother says consolingly as she stands up. “I’ll go get a dustpan and brush.”

“I’ll help clean it up,” Jungkook says quickly, leaning down to pick up the three large chunks of ceramic on the ground.

“Kookie, that’s sharp, be careful,” Taehyung says worriedly.

“It’s fine, I’ve got it,” Jungkook says, his face turning redder from embarrassment with every passing second that Taehyung and his father watch him. He hurries out of the kitchen – and only once he’s gone does he realise that he’s still holding the broken plate, which he really should have put in the bin. But he’s too embarrassed to go back in.

In his panic, he manages to catch Mrs Kim’s eye from where she’s stood in the utility room and she beckons him over. “You didn’t have to do that Jungkook; I was just coming over,” she says as he approaches, dustpan and brush already in her hand. “But thank you. The bin’s just here.” She gestures to the corner of the room and Jungkook walks inside, throwing the ceramic away before he looks dejectedly at Taehyung’s mother.

“It’s the least I could do,” he says apologetically. “I’m really sorry about your plate. I didn’t realise it would be so hot. I mean, you said it’d be hot and – and you said not to touch it, actually, so I really should have known better, but I was worried about spilling more food on the table so I guess I wasn’t really thinking and…” He trails off uncertainly. He’s so used to Taehyung cutting him off mid-sentence when he starts rambling that he’s forgotten how long he continues talking.

Mrs Kim smiles at him comfortingly. “Why are you so nervous tonight?”

Jungkook gulps, looking down at the floor. “It’s just my personality.”

Mrs Kim shakes her head. “I’ve spoken to you before, Jungkook. You’re not usually like this.”

“I just really want you to like me,” he admits quietly, still avoiding eye contact.

Mrs Kim chuckles. “I already like you.”

Jungkook looks up. “But I broke one of your plates,” he says despondently.

“It was already chipped anyway; it was bound to break sooner or later,” she says dismissively. “You don’t need to worry about making a good impression, Jungkook. I already know you.”

“Well – that’s what I said!” Jungkook says emphatically. “But then Taehyung started talking about how I’d never met you as his _boyfriend_ and he got me all nervous about it.”

“There’s no need to be nervous, honestly,” Mrs Kim replies with a smile. “I think you’re overthinking things. Tonight isn’t supposed to be a test of how well you’ll treat our son: it’s supposed to be a celebration of the fact that Taehyung now feels he can be open with us about his relationships. You’re supposed to _enjoy_ it, not feel intimidated.”

Jungkook blushes, now feeling a bit stupid. “Well, when you put it like that…”

Mrs Kim closes the cupboard door and then smiles at Jungkook. “Shall we go back into the kitchen now and have a second attempt at dinner?”

Jungkook laughs embarrassedly. “Okay. I promise I’ll try not to break any more of your crockery.”

Mrs Kim laughs. “The only thing I’m worried about you breaking is my son’s heart.” Then she smiles to herself. “Would you look at that, I came up with that right on the spot.”

Jungkook smiles back, and for the first time tonight it feels natural.

When they return to the kitchen table, Taehyung has already got Jungkook out a new plate and is serving him some food. “Are you okay now?” Taehyung asks him as he sits down, while Mrs Kim sweeps up the rest of the broken ceramic on the floor.

Jungkook frowns at the question. “I was always okay. I wasn’t the one who fell on the floor and broke.”

Taehyung laughs at the phrasing. “Well, at least you’re acting more like yourself now.” He gestures to Jungkook’s plate. “Is that enough stew for you?”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Jungkook says. “Thanks, Tae.”

“You’re welcome,” Taehyung smiles, instinctively pecking Jungkook on the cheek before he starts serving himself. But as he’s reaching for the potatoes, he freezes and looks worriedly at his father, sensing how Jungkook has also frozen by his side. “I – uh, sorry,” he says awkwardly, not really knowing what he’s apologising for.

Taehyung’s father raises an eyebrow. “He’s your boyfriend; do you really think I don’t know that you kiss him sometimes?” he says dryly. “Just keep it PG at the table, please.”

“Right,” Taehyung says awkwardly, still feeling uncomfortable. Jungkook is a blushing mess next to him.

Luckily Mrs Kim returns to the table at that point before things can get too awkward, sitting down and breaking the tense atmosphere by asking, “So Jungkook, what do you think of Taehyung’s new hair?”

Jungkook smiles shyly. “I like it a lot. It’s my favourite colour.”

Taehyung smiles softly at him. “That’s why I did it.”

“I know,” Jungkook smiles back.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit intense?” Mr Kim asks curiously.

Jungkook shakes his head, lifting up a hand to play with the strands of Taehyung’s hair. (Taehyung’s eyes flutter closed for a second at the gesture, before he remembers where they are and opens them again.) “I think it really suits you,” Jungkook tells his boyfriend.

Taehyung smiles bashfully. “It did come out stronger than I intended.”

Jungkook hums, dropping his hand, and Taehyung tries not to pout at the loss of contact. “Did you dye it yourself?”

Taehyung shakes his head. “I got J-Hope to help. He clearly didn’t read the instructions properly.”

Jungkook shrugs. “Jimin read the instructions twice before he did mine, and he still managed to turn it bright purple.”

Taehyung laughs. “At least yours looked good, though.”

“Yours does too,” Jungkook insists.

“I still think you look like a tomato,” Mr Kim contributes.

“Nobody asked for your opinion,” Taehyung responds without missing a beat, which makes his mother laugh.

The rest of dinner goes rather smoothly; and thankfully Jungkook pulls through on his promise of not breaking any more crockery.

After dinner is over, Jungkook explains that he should probably head to the bus stop. He thanks Taehyung’s parents for having him over and for making such lovely food, probably overdoing it in the worry that he’s not being polite enough. (Taehyung is laughing at him for it as he leads him to the front door.)

“It was our pleasure, Jungkook,” Mrs Kim says with a smile. “You’re welcome to come over whenever you like.”

Taehyung looks at his parents hopefully. “Can he come round next weekend?” They nod and Taehyung looks back to Jungkook, seeming a bit embarrassed. “I mean, if you want to. If you’re free.”

Jungkook can’t hide his smile. “You think I’d have made any other plans for the 14th?”

Taehyung smiles back, clearly relieved. “Is that a yes?”

“I’m surprised you need to ask,” Jungkook says fondly. Then, when Taehyung still seems unsure, “ _Yes_ , it’s a yes, you idiot.”

Taehyung chuckles. “You can come over for dinner again, maybe? I’ll make us something.”

Jungkook snorts. “So I should eat before, or go hungry, then?”

Taehyung shoves his shoulder playfully. “Don’t be mean.”

“I’m just being realistic,” Jungkook argues, but he’s grinning.

Taehyung grins back, taking his boyfriend’s hands and bringing him closer. “Thanks again for being here tonight.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it,” Jungkook replies softly.

Taehyung leans in to kiss him goodbye, but then he gets the feeling that he’s being watched and he turns around to see his parents still standing there, looking at them.

He turns back to Jungkook decisively. “I’ll walk you to the bus stop,” he says, pulling away to open the front door. “I’ll be back soon,” he calls over his shoulder as he and Jungkook leave the house.

 

***

 

“Are you really going to make me dinner?” Jungkook asks as they start the walk. It’s cold outside and Taehyung passively wishes that he’d put on a jacket before rushing out the door.

“I’m going to try,” Taehyung says honestly. “You should have more faith in me, Kookie.”

Jungkook laughs. “Anyone who has faith in your cooking abilities is clearly deluded.”

Taehyung pouts, acting offended, but after a couple of seconds he can’t hold back the laughter anymore. “Okay, you may be right, but let me _try,_ at least. Jesus Christ. Let me prove myself.” His and Jungkook’s hands are brushing as they walk, and he slowly links their hands together.

Jungkook smiles at him. “How come we’re holding hands?”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow. “Are we not supposed to?”

“Well, we’re out in public,” Jungkook points out. But if anything he only holds onto Taehyung’s hand tighter.

Taehyung smiles gently. “My parents know now. There’s no one else I would want to hide from in my hometown.”

Jungkook hums in understanding. “You know…” he begins, “sometimes I feel like I’m asking too much of you. Wanting you to tell everybody.”

Taehyung glances at him. “I feel like I’m asking too much of you, telling you to keep quiet all the time.”

Jungkook squeezes his hand, smiling. “Well. I guess this is a good compromise, then.”

When they reach the bus stop, Taehyung continues to hold Jungkook’s hand, insisting on waiting with him until the bus arrives. Even when a couple of other people arrive to wait, Taehyung stays sitting with Jungkook and holding his hand, chatting to him about nothing in particular, and Jungkook can’t stop smiling.

The bus turns up eventually and Jungkook stands up, their hands disconnecting as he stretches his arms up above his head. Taehyung stands up too, smiling at him, and Jungkook waves at him slightly. “I’ll see you next week,” he says before turning away.

Taehyung catches his arm, pulling Jungkook back towards him, and he kisses Jungkook on the lips. It’s nothing more than a simple peck; over before it’s really begun – but to Jungkook it means everything.

“See you next week,” Taehyung agrees with a wide smile. Jungkook stares at him, shocked that they’ve just kissed out in public; but before he has a chance to say anything else, Taehyung gently pushes him in the direction of the bus.

Jungkook manages to resist the temptation to turn around as he gets on the bus, shows his ticket and finds a seat – but once he’s sat down, he looks out of the window. Taehyung is already looking back at him. Jungkook bites back another stupid smile, feeling his heart jump around wildly in his chest as he waves goodbye again, less awkwardly this time. Taehyung waves back, but he only starts to walk back home once the bus has pulled away.

On his way home, Jungkook fiddles with the promise ring on his finger. It may have its own significance for Taehyung, but to Jungkook, it feels like the promise of a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally omgggg
> 
> also, this is so exciting,,, a wonderful person [TheseAreMyWings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseAreMyWings/pseuds/TheseAreMyWings) is starting to translate this work into Spanish, [you can read the first chapter here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15191423/chapters/35232515) thank you so much for wanting to translate this and giving me a sense of validation as a writer ^.^


	42. we got a lovin’ thing, we gotta feed it right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taehyung makes Jungkook dinner (well, he tries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this got so long omg. but I said there’d be 45 chapters in total so I’m sticking to that. these final chapters may have a lot of content lol
> 
> this is mainly fluff, but there's some more intense conversation at the end. (idk what I mean by that it's late I'm going to sleep)
> 
> enjoy! ^^

It’s Monday and Jungkook has just sat down for lunch, but food is the last thing on his mind. He’s been texting Taehyung on and off all day – probably distracting Taehyung from revision, not that he seems to mind.

Maybe it’s odd how quickly they’ve settled back into their relationship, but then again, maybe it isn’t odd at all. It was a two-week separation that neither of them really wanted – and now, with the promise that their relationship will soon be out in the open, it’s all Jungkook can do to stop himself grinning all day long.

“So. Guess who dyed his hair red?” Rosé asks as she sits down, joining him at the lunch table. “Here’s your clue: I ran into him on Friday and he looks like a fire truck. Knowing you, you’d probably like it, though. You like red, no matter how obnoxious it is.”

“Hmm,” Jungkook replies distractedly, not really paying attention to her words and instead focusing on the new message that’s just come through.

“You’re distracted,” Rosé states. “What is it, you’re not interested in V anymore? Or you just don’t appreciate being called obnoxious for your colour preferences?”

Jungkook looks up at her as he locks his phone, putting it down on the table. “What?”

Rosé snorts. “Or maybe you’re just not paying attention.” She sounds distracted herself, now looking curiously at his hand. “That ring is fancy. Where’d you get it?”

“Oh,” Jungkook says, looking down at his hand where his promise ring sits on the fourth finger. “It was a gift.”

Rosé lifts an eyebrow, impressed. “It looks expensive – whoever bought it must like you a lot. Who’s it from?” Then, before Jungkook has a chance to think up a (probably peculiar) answer, she continues, “Your family?”

Jungkook smiles shyly. “Yeah,” he agrees. Because if he thinks about it, Taehyung is family to him. Or at least he hopes he will be, someday.

Rosé laughs in surprise as Jungkook continues to smile at nothing in particular. “You’re in a good mood today,” she comments.

“Well… yeah,” Jungkook agrees. “I am. I’m doing really well.”

“Did something happen over the weekend?” she continues, seeming genuinely intrigued, and Jungkook wonders what on earth is going on with her.

“Did something happen to _you_ over the weekend?” he combats. “Why are you suddenly so interested in me?”

She scowls at him. “I’m just trying to be a decent person. We can sit in silence if you’d prefer.”

Jungkook chuckles, understanding that she only appears angry when she feels defensive or embarrassed. “No, it’s okay. And yeah, something pretty great happened over the weekend.”

At that moment, his phone lights up again with another text and Jungkook bites back a stupid smile. As he reaches for his phone to reply, Rosé also looks at the screen in curiosity and asks, “Who’s Dave?”

Jungkook frowns at her, then looks back at his phone, and remembers with a start that Taehyung’s number is still saved as ‘Dave’. He’s got so used to seeing the name pop up that he doesn’t even question it anymore.

He shrugs, putting his phone away in his pocket after sending a quick goodbye text to Taehyung. “Someone from my dance group,” he answers. Technically he isn’t lying.

 

***

 

“Hey, Tae,” Jungkook says when he answers the phone. “How’s revision going?”

“It’s okay,” Taehyung says through a sigh. “I’ve never worked this hard in my _life._ ”

Jungkook chuckles. “It’ll pay off, though.”

“I fucking hope so,” Taehyung says pointedly. “Anyway, I’m done for the night now. Talk to me about you. Are you still having friends over on Friday?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook replies, smiling at the thought of it. It was something Jimin suggested a couple days ago; a small gathering to give the Pink Ladies a break from revision. And because it’s exam season, Jimin said it should probably have a no-alcohol policy, which meant hosting rights automatically fell to Jungkook. The Pink Ladies said he could invite some other friends too if he wanted – and Jungkook isn’t exactly a social butterfly, but he asked Bambam and Yugyeom if they were interested as well. “All the Pink Ladies are going, and so is Bambam, but Yugyeom can’t make it.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Taehyung says, sounding disappointed for him, and Jungkook frowns in confusion.

“Why? You don’t like him.”

Taehyung laughs. “Of course I like him.”

Jungkook almost rolls his eyes. “Tae.”

“Okay, so I _didn’t_ like him,” Taehyung admits, “but that’s only because I knew he liked _you._ And that was a long time ago – I know you guys are still good friends. I want you to be able to hang out with him without worrying I’ll be weird about it.”

Jungkook grins. “So you admit you were being petty before?” he teases.

“Well, I was right about him liking you, wasn’t I?” Taehyung argues.

Jungkook laughs. “If it makes you feel any better, the reason he can’t come on Friday is because he has a date.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line, and then Taehyung is asking, “Really?”

Jungkook snorts. “You think I’d make that up?”

“I mean, no, but…” Taehyung hesitates. “Is it weird if that makes me feel better?”

Jungkook can’t keep the fondness out of his voice when he says, “Kind of. But I’m not surprised.”

“I really don’t mean to get so jealous,” Taehyung says honestly. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I kind of like it,” Jungkook admits with a small smile. “It’s nice knowing you care that much. And it’s not like you ever tell me to stop hanging out with people because of it. You just get a bit pouty and clingier than usual. It’s cute.”

Taehyung laughs. “Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate.”

“I don’t know if Friday will be more awkward without Yugyeom there, though,” Jungkook admits. “I mean, Bambam knows the others but he’s only really close friends with me.”

“Bambam will be fine,” Taehyung reassures him. “He’s always good at joining in and talking to new people. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“You’re probably right,” Jungkook says, although he still feels a little nervous. “Maybe I’m overthinking it.”

“You do tend to do that,” Taehyung replies, and Jungkook can hear the smile in his voice. “I think it’s nice you’re doing this though. Isn’t this your first time hosting a party?”

“It’s not a party,” Jungkook says quickly, but when Taehyung laughs he laughs along with him. “Okay, yeah, it’s my first time hosting. I wouldn’t have done it if Jimin hadn’t basically pressured me into it.”

“It was a friendly push,” Taehyung corrects.

“It was peer pressure,” Jungkook argues.

“Talking of Jimin, have you decided when you’re going to tell him about us?” Taehyung asks. It’s a casual question; a genuine enquiry, but Jungkook still gulps.

“Um… not really.”

“You could always tell him this Friday,” Taehyung suggests. “You’ll be seeing him anyway.”

“I guess, but…” Jungkook falters. “I mean, it’s a pretty big announcement, right? I want to make sure I do it the right way. I don’t think it would be a good idea to do it with everyone else there.”

“True,” Taehyung agrees. “Do you know if he’s busy during the day? He could come over beforehand.”

“But it’s Friday 13th,” Jungkook says quickly.

Taehyung laughs. “If it goes badly, at least you can blame it on bad luck.”

“I’d rather not tempt fate,” Jungkook says contemptuously.

“Are you sure you’re not avoiding it?” Taehyung says gently.

Jungkook sighs. “I’m just worried.” He pauses for a second, wondering whether it’s really a good idea to confess what’s been on his mind lately, but he knows that his and Taehyung’s main issue is communication. He doesn’t want to ruin anything. So he takes a deep breath and asks, “Did you know that Jisoo and Lisa went on a date?”

He can sense Taehyung’s confusion at the topic change. But he doesn’t question it; merely says, “No, I didn’t. Why?”

Jungkook exhales sharply, feeling a sense of foreboding. “Shit. I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you.”

“What –”

“Jimin told me,” Jungkook explains. “And then he told me that it was supposed to be a secret. But he told me anyway. He shouldn’t have _told_ me.”

“Well, you’re his best friend,” Taehyung reasons. “Maybe he doesn’t feel he needs to keep secrets from you?”

“Wow, Tae, what a way to make me feel guilty,” Jungkook snaps.

Taehyung gulps. “Kookie –”

“Whatever,” Jungkook says, cutting him off again. “It’s – it doesn’t matter how close we are. If he told me a secret when he shouldn’t have done, then what if… what if I tell him about us, and he decides not to keep that a secret either?”

Taehyung pauses, and just in that hesitation Jungkook can tell that he’s also nervous about the possibility, even if he tries to be realistic. “Who else would he tell?” Taehyung points out. After a slight pause, he adds jokily, “He might just tell you again.”

“What about his boyfriend?” Jungkook counters.

Taehyung sighs. “Right. Suga. That’s a good point.”

“I know this is a weird thing to say but… do you mind waiting?” Jungkook asks nervously. “Just until I can make sure he’ll keep it a secret.”

When Taehyung speaks again, there’s a smile in his voice. “Kookie. You know I’m the one that’s kept _you_ waiting this whole time, right? If you want to wait until you feel comfortable before you tell him, that’s completely fine.”

Jungkook sighs. “It’s just – you’re finally ready, and now I’m telling you not to do it yet. This is ridiculous. I would’ve jumped at the chance a few months ago.”

“Things change,” Taehyung says easily. “We can approach this however you want, really. I’ve taken long enough to get to this point. We’re on your schedule now.”

Jungkook breathes out slowly. “Thank you.”

“No worries,” Taehyung says easily. “But just to check… you’re not waiting because of me, are you?”

Jungkook frowns. “What do you mean?”

“About Jimin blabbing to someone else…” Taehyung hesitates. “I’m going to tell everyone anyway. I thought you’d want to tell Jimin first, but if you’d prefer, I can tell them all together.”

“No, I think you’re right about telling Jimin separately, before everyone else,” Jungkook acknowledges. “But I… I need some time to adjust? The possibility of telling him was always there, but now that it’s actually real, I need to prepare myself.” He chuckles awkwardly. “Is that stupid?”

“Not at all,” Taehyung reassures him.

“I’ll talk to him on Friday and find out when he’s free, so I can talk to him about it properly,” Jungkook says. “But first I need to make sure that, whatever it is he thinks I’m going to tell him, he’ll keep it a secret.” He smiles slightly as he recalls the conversation he and Jimin had a couple of weeks ago. “He’s convinced himself I’m involved in some sort of drug ring or something. Hopefully he’ll be more relieved than anything else when I tell him the truth.”

Taehyung giggles. “I’m not nearly as exciting as a drug ring. I hope he won’t be severely disappointed.”

 

***

 

“Thanks for inviting us, Kook,” Jisoo says with a wide grin as she and Rosé step inside.

“It’s no problem,” Jungkook responds honestly. They’re the first people to arrive, but Jungkook isn’t as nervous as he expected to be about hosting. He feels too comfortable around the Pink Ladies for that.

“I can’t believe you’ve never invited us round before,” Rosé says pointedly as she follows Jungkook through to the living room. But her indignance promptly disappears when she sees the snacks laid out. She picks up a chicken nugget and grins. “They’re cold.”

Jungkook shrugs. “I thought it would be a nice throwback.”

Rosé rolls her eyes at the response, but she still picks up the bowl and eats a couple more, before offering one to Jungkook.

Jisoo watches them in amusement. “When did you two get so pally-pally?”

“When you ditched us for exams,” Rosé shoots back, making Jungkook laugh.

“Are you replacing me?” Jisoo accuses.

“You’re not going to be around next year,” Rosé shrugs unapologetically. “I need to hang out with _someone_.” But when Jisoo seems uncomfortable at the response, she puts a hand round Jisoo’s waist and grins at her. “Don’t be stupid. I could never replace you. You’re my best friend.” She turns towards Jungkook. “And a best friend that’s been lying to me, at that.”

Jisoo giggles. “I finally told her about Lisa,” she explains.

“You did?” Jungkook asks in surprise.

“Yeah, on the way here.”

“Did _everyone_ know about it before me?” Rosé asks indignantly.

“Not for that long,” Jisoo says defensively. “Anyway, I’ve told you now.”

“Yeah, you have,” Rosé laughs. “I still can’t believe you thought I’d be mean to you about it. I mean, I know I’m a bit harsh sometimes, but _seriously._ I must be a pretty crap friend if you thought I wouldn’t be happy for you.”

Jisoo smiles fondly. “I was being a bit petty hiding it,” she admits. “But I’m glad you took it well. I love you, you know that, right?”

Rosé grins. “Yeah, Chi Chu. I love you too.”

“I feel like I’m intruding on something here,” Jungkook comments, which makes the girls laugh.

But in reality, Rosé’s reaction to Jisoo and Lisa’s budding relationship helps to ease his mind a little. He knows that his relationship with Taehyung has been going on much longer than Jisoo and Lisa’s, but he hopes that Jimin will have a positive reaction to his relationship as well.

He promises himself that he’ll talk to Jimin tonight.

 

***

 

A bit later on, when all the guests have arrived and there’s music playing, Bambam complains that the bowl of crisps is empty. Jimin says he’ll go fetch some more from the kitchen, so Jungkook follows him through.

“Don’t you trust me in your kitchen?” Jimin laughs when he notices Jungkook’s presence. “You know I came to get the crisps. I wouldn’t steal anything. I’m not _you._ ”

“Jimin, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Jungkook says, his voice oddly serious.

Jimin nods, shoving a few crisps into his mouth from the now open packet. “What’s up?”

“Uh… can you stop eating for a second?” Jungkook asks nervously.

Jimin’s eyes widen as he swallows. “Is everything okay?”

“I just… I’d like to talk to you about something, and I want to find out when you’re free so we can talk properly. But first I need to check that you’ll keep it a secret.”

“Is this about why your mood has been so weird the last couple of weeks?” Jimin asks curiously.

Jungkook nods.

“Okay,” Jimin says. “But is there a reason you can’t just tell me now?”

Jungkook smiles awkwardly. “There are other people here, Chim.”

“We’re alone now,” Jimin points out.

“Yeah, but I have a feeling it will be a long conversation,” Jungkook sighs. “I just… please tell me you’ll keep it a secret. This is important.”

Jimin frowns at him. “Okay. If you really care that much, then okay. When did you want to talk?”

“As soon as you’re free,” Jungkook says immediately. He wants to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“I’m busy tomorrow,” Jimin answers, “although I’m free in the evening?”

Jungkook blinks. “Oh. I’m – busy tomorrow night. And I have something I’m doing Sunday morning as well.” _Staying round my boyfriend’s house,_ he adds in his head.

“I’m free Sunday… but you said this would be a long conversation, right?” Jimin says nervously. “I really need to revise. I have an exam on Monday morning.”

“Yeah, we should probably wait,” Jungkook sighs. “I’ll be busy all week with school, though. Next Saturday?”

Jimin nods. “Next Saturday works for me. I’ll come over?”

Jungkook smiles tightly. “I’ll see you then.”

Jimin sighs. “Kook – whatever it is, I’m not going to judge you for it.”

Jungkook gulps. “I’ll hold you to that.” He then takes the packet of crisps out of Jimin’s grasp and heads back into the living room, making a beeline for Bambam. He has the excuse of filling up the snack bowl, but really he just doesn’t want to be around anybody who doesn’t know about his and Taehyung’s relationship. The anticipation of knowing that everyone will find out soon has him more on edge than usual.

Luckily, Bambam doesn’t notice anything off about his mood; launching into a description of how good the snacks are at Jungkook’s house and how much Yugyeom will probably regret not being here.

Jungkook laughs. “Maybe I should bring some snacks to pizza night next week.”

Bambam grins. “You should _definitely_ bring snacks. I have no idea how I got roped into hosting every week, what the hell is that about?”

“It’s not like we don’t chip in money for the pizza,” Jungkook argues.

“That’s not the point –”

“Hey, Jungkook, Dave is texting you,” Rosé interrupts from the other side of the room.

Jungkook frowns – when did she take his phone? He vaguely remembers leaving it out on the table earlier, but still…

“Who’s Dave?” Bambam asks obliviously.

Jungkook looks at him urgently, his eyes wide as if he’s trying to convey something. “Dave from dance, _remember?_ ” he says, before he turns to face the Pink Ladies. “Why are you reading my messages anyway?” he protests.

“It’s not our fault the previews are flying across the screen,” Jin argues.

“This guy is kind of creeping me out,” Jimin says nervously. “Why did you give him your number?”

“And why does he keep calling you ‘baby’?” Jisoo frowns.

Jungkook sees a look of recognition flash across Bambam’s face, and then Bambam is taking Jungkook’s phone from Jisoo’s hands, responding “Dave’s sleazy like that. Best to ignore him.” He smiles at Jungkook, sounding surprisingly convincing as he says, “I’ll respond and tell him to stop harassing you.”

When Jungkook’s phone is returned to him a couple minutes later, there are a few new messages on the screen:

**hey baby how are you doing xxx**

**I miss you**

**and your cute face**

**and the rest of your body too lol**

**I mean it would be weird if they weren’t connected**

**I’ll shut up**

**text me when you get a chance baby I need a distraction from revision xxxxxx**

**hey sleazy dave from dance, it’s bambam here. pink ladies disturbed by these texts. pls stop**

**shit sorry**

It’s not until a few hours later when the Pink Ladies have left that Jungkook finally allows himself to respond to his boyfriend’s texts.

**hey tae**

**I miss you too**

**but were you seriously trying to sext me while I had friends over**

Taehyung responds almost immediately.

**omg how was I to know they had your phone!!!! don’t attack me**

**also I forget how innocent you are lmao I love that you think that was sexting**

**shut up**

**seriously if I was trying to sext you I wouldn’t give you the image of your head being disconnected from the rest of your body**

**unless you have a horror movie kink or something???**

**you’re so annoying I’m blocking you**

**lmao**

**you didn’t deny it though**

**I don’t have any kinks**

**pffft everyone has kinks**

**but it’s cool if you don’t wanna tell me**

**it’ll be more fun figuring them out for myself anyway ;)**

**goodbye tae**

**hahhaha**

**< 3 <3**

 

***

 

“Hi, Mrs Kim,” Jungkook smiles when Taehyung’s mother answers the door.

“Jungkook, come on through!” she smiles, holding the door open to let him inside. “Taehyung’s making a bit of a racket in the kitchen; I figured I should leave him be,” she explains as Jungkook takes off his shoes.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Jungkook chuckles. “Do you think I should go in there and check he’s okay?”

“Maybe,” Mrs Kim acknowledges. “Good luck.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll need it,” Jungkook grins, heading towards the kitchen door. (He’s grateful that things don’t feel stilted between him and Taehyung’s parents anymore. After his visit last weekend, he feels much more comfortable in their presence, especially knowing that he and Taehyung are no longer hiding something important from them.)

“Don’t come in!” Taehyung yelps as Jungkook opens the door and pokes his head inside.

“Everything alright, Tae?” Jungkook asks nervously. The kitchen is in complete disarray – Taehyung is flitting about the room, waving wooden spoons in the air in the hopes of stopping everything from going wrong.

“You’re not allowed in here!” Taehyung squeaks at Jungkook before turning back to one of his pans. “I’m making you dinner. Go sit down in the living room.”

Jungkook raises his eyebrows. “It doesn’t exactly look like you have everything under control.”

Taehyung turns back to Jungkook, and Jungkook notices that he’s sweating nervously. “It doesn’t have to be under control,” Taehyung says petulantly. “The point is that I’m making an effort.”

Jungkook smirks. “Well, you’ve proven your point. Are you sure you don’t want me to help?”

Taehyung pouts, then sits down at the table in defeat. “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

Jungkook smiles consolingly and sits down next to him. “What were you trying to make?”

“Spaghetti bolognese,” Taehyung says miserably. “It was going to be really good, as well! But then the sauce started bubbling and I didn’t know what to do, so I put a lid over the top and hoped for the best… and then it started making weird hissing sounds so I hid it and tried to pretend it wasn’t there. And then I somehow burnt the pasta, so I guess we’re not eating.”

Jungkook stares at Taehyung incredulously. “Okay, forget about the pasta, I have no clue how you managed that – but as for the sauce, did you try stirring it?”

“Was I supposed to?” Taehyung asks, seeming surprised.

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Come on, stand up.”

Taehyung does as he’s told and follows Jungkook to the stove curiously. “What are we doing?”

Jungkook picks up a wooden spoon and waves it in Taehyung’s face triumphantly. “I’m teaching you. What did you do with the sauce?”

Taehyung grins embarrassedly and points at the cupboard under the sink.

Jungkook frowns, warily handing the spoon to Taehyung as he walks over to the sink. He opens the cupboard hesitantly and then pulls out the pot, placing it unceremoniously on the kitchen table. Jungkook looks at his boyfriend questioningly. “Taehyung. Why?”

Taehyung shrugs helplessly. “I didn’t know what to do with it!”

“Shoving it in the cupboard usually isn’t the answer,” Jungkook says flatly. He sighs and gestures for Taehyung to join him as he turns on the hob and places the pot on top, removing the lid to avoid any further catastrophes. “Come here, babe.”

“What do you want me to do?” Taehyung asks nervously, holding the spoon in front of his body defensively.

“You just have to stir it,” Jungkook chuckles.

“What if it spits at me?” Taehyung mumbles.

“It won’t if you stir it,” Jungkook says gently. “Go on, I’m right behind you.” He pushes Taehyung forward so that he’s in front of the sauce, and Taehyung shies away, looking at Jungkook in alarm.

“The last time I was stood here, something terrible happened,” he says seriously.

Jungkook snorts. “You’re so dramatic, oh my God. Just – stand like this…” he murmurs, stepping closer to Taehyung so that his chest is pressed up against Taehyung’s back. Taehyung holds his breath involuntarily as Jungkook’s left hand wraps around Taehyung’s waist, his right hand placed softly over Taehyung’s as he guides Taehyung’s hands. “Got it?” Jungkook asks after helping Taehyung stir for a while.

“No,” Taehyung smiles cheekily. “I think you need to help me for a bit longer.”

Jungkook chuckles, but he doesn’t make any effort to step away.

“Can I taste it?” Jungkook asks after a minute of silence.

“Huh?” Taehyung says gormlessly, staring at Jungkook’s lips.

“The sauce,” Jungkook smirks, amused at Taehyung’s dazed expression.

“Why don’t we just kiss instead?” Taehyung suggests, still not making eye contact, and Jungkook flicks him on the cheek.

“Nothing’s burning under my watch,” Jungkook says decisively, detaching himself from Taehyung to find a teaspoon.

Taehyung laughs. “It’s ‘on my watch’, Kookie. Unless you’re secretly hiding some cooking utensils on your wrist?”

“Don’t make fun of me when I’m the only one stopping your kitchen from burning down,” Jungkook shoots back.

“Feisty,” Taehyung smirks.

Jungkook dips his teaspoon into the sauce and tries not to feel too discouraged at the runny texture. He distantly wonders whether Taehyung remembered to add stock, or whether the liquid in the pot is simply vegetable juice. He dutifully sips the sauce off his spoon, then flinches. “Jesus, that’s disgusting. What did you put in there?”

Taehyung glares at Jungkook indignantly. “I followed a recipe, okay! It said to put in the meat first, then add tomatoes, onions, carrots, some stock and some herbs… I think there’s garlic in there, also oregano, maybe cinnamon? I don’t know; I just used what we had in the cupboard.”

“Taehyung,” Jungkook says carefully as he stares at the sauce. “Did you chop up any of the vegetables, or did you just throw them in?”

“I chopped the carrots,” Taehyung insists stubbornly. “And the tomatoes were pre-chopped. But I don’t like onions, so I figured if I left them whole then I’d get the flavour and then I could pick them out later.”

Jungkook frowns, picks up a ladle and fishes a whole onion out of the pot. “You could have left the onion in big chunks to pick out later, but you really should’ve peeled it first,” he recommends. “Did you at least wash it?”

“I’m not a professional chef,” Taehyung snaps.

Jungkook laughs. “Baby, you know I’d do anything for you, but eating this food is a step too far.” He grins at Taehyung’s put-out expression and puts the onion ladle back in the pot to link their hands together; his way of keeping the peace. “What do you say – shall we give up and order pizza, or do you want me to teach you how to make spaghetti bolognese properly?”

Taehyung grins back. “Do you think you have the patience for such a distracted learner?”

Jungkook frowns. “Who says you’re distracted? I think you’d make a pretty good student.”

“Well, it just so happens that my cooking teacher is _extremely_ attractive,” Taehyung smirks, leaning closer to Jungkook.

Jungkook grins at the blatant proposition and pulls Taehyung towards him, kissing him hard. It heats up almost instantly, both of them already breathless and desperate for each other. Jungkook doesn’t quite know where his own desperation stems from until it occurs to him, just as his hands slip under Taehyung’s t-shirt to grip his hips, that this must be the first proper kiss they’ve shared since getting back together. And damn, Taehyung is an even better kisser than he remembered.

They only pull away when the sauce starts bubbling over, Taehyung stepping back with a gasp and a whispered “It’s happening again.”

Jungkook laughs and moves the pot off the heat, before turning off the hob altogether. “Do you want to get out some more ingredients? We’d better throw this version away.”

Taehyung opens the fridge just as his mother appears in the doorway. “Is everything okay in here?” she asks anxiously.

Jungkook nods. “Taehyung wasted some ingredients, but I think we’ll be fine.”

“Mum, do we have any more onions?” Taehyung enquires innocently.

Mrs Kim frowns, confused. “We had three in the fridge, last time I looked.”

“Oh, was that it?” Taehyung says disappointedly. “I put all of them in already.”

Jungkook’s lips quirk up into an amused smile. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can salvage some of the stuff in here. Hand me a plate?”

Taehyung puts a plate in front of Jungkook and Jungkook fishes out the three unpeeled onions, setting them down next to each other on the plate as Mrs Kim stares at them in horror.

“Taehyung, what on earth did you think you were doing?” she says, sounding far too shocked to be intimidating.

“I was cooking, mum,” Taehyung responds happily.

“That’s not cooking,” she responds warily. “That’s throwing some food in a pot, heating it up and hoping for the best.”

Taehyung frowns. “Isn’t it the same thing?”

Jungkook bites back a laugh. “Don’t worry, Mrs Kim. I’ll supervise him.”

“Just don’t take your eyes off him,” she warns him seriously.

Jungkook smiles at Taehyung fondly. “I couldn’t if I tried.”

Taehyung smiles back, delighted at the compliment, and Mrs Kim takes this moment to quietly leave the room, feeling sure that her son is in safe hands with Jungkook.

 

***

 

In the end, they eat their (surprisingly decent, Taehyung notes) meal an hour or so later, giggling and joking around together and just feeling so damn _happy._

In a lot of ways, Taehyung wishes he could have sorted out his shit sooner, so that they could have been like this for longer. But overall he’s just happy that they can act like this now.

When Taehyung sits back down after clearing up their plates, he notes that Jungkook has got quieter. “What’s up?” he asks.

Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise. “I never said something was wrong.”

Taehyung smiles affectionately. “No, but I can tell. Go on, tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I think… I’d like to tell you about how things were at my old school,” Jungkook says quietly. “If you want to hear it. It might be good to finally get it off my chest.”

“I would like to know,” Taehyung responds immediately.

Jungkook gulps. “I… don’t know how hard it will be for me. I’ve kept it locked inside for, well, a long time. Even when it was happening, I kind of refused to acknowledge it and… I know I want to tell you everything. But I also know it’s going to make me emotional and – I don’t want to ruin the 14th.” He looks at Taehyung apprehensively. “Maybe we should just discuss it another day?”

“You’re not ruining anything,” Taehyung reassures him. “You know I would never make you talk about it, but… it seems like you want to.”

Jungkook sighs. “I really do want to talk about it. But –”

“No buts,” Taehyung says with a small smile. He reaches out for Jungkook’s hand across the table and squeezes it gently. “You really think something like this could ruin our celebration? Nothing can ruin this, Kookie. You opening up and sharing something so personal with me can never be a bad thing.” Jungkook still looks unconvinced, so Taehyung stands up, tugging gently on his boyfriend’s hand. “Do you want to go sit down on the sofa?”

Jungkook huffs out a laugh. “You think a sofa is going to make it easier for me to talk?”

Taehyung grins. “Maybe. Anyway, it makes it easier for me to cuddle you if you need affection.”

“I never _need_ affection,” Jungkook argues. “Have you met me?” Taehyung can tell he’s trying to hide a smile.

“I know I’m the exception to your rule on physical contact,” Taehyung responds casually. He laughs when Jungkook trips over his own feet in surprise, Taehyung’s hold on him the only thing keeping him upright. “Come on, if you were trying to hide it, you were doing a shit job,” Taehyung says cheerfully. “Anyway, I know you don’t need affection. But you might want it.”

Jungkook sighs, allowing himself to be pulled through to the living room. “Are you parents still out?” he asks anxiously. He may like Taehyung’s parents, but that doesn’t mean he wants them hearing the ins and outs of his coming out experience. He hasn’t even told his _own_ parents.

Taehyung nods, smiling at him comfortingly. “They’ll be out till late.” He sits down on the sofa and pulls Jungkook down next to him.

“They obviously trust you a lot more than mine trust me,” Jungkook scoffs, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere he feels settling around them. (Or maybe it’s all in his mind. Something associated with a dark time in his life that he never really learned how to let go of.)

Taehyung laughs. “Your parents don’t even let us cuddle on the sofa,” he says pointedly as he puts an arm round Jungkook’s shoulders. “I think yours are just overly strict, babe.”

“Or more aware of what might happen while they’re gone,” Jungkook points out.

Taehyung smirks. “Mine are _aware_. But we’re both legal, and in –” He cuts himself off before he can finish the words ‘in love’. He doesn’t even know where Jungkook stands on this. Besides, he doesn’t want to confess so flippantly like that. Jungkook deserves to know, of course, but now doesn’t seem like the right moment. “In a relationship,” he finishes weakly.

“Right,” Jungkook agrees, not seeming to notice Taehyung’s slip-up. “Well at least we know that we should hang out at your house more often.”

Taehyung laughs. “Sounds good to me.” He leans closer to kiss Jungkook’s temple. “You sure you want to talk about this?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says. With Taehyung’s arm wrapped around his shoulders, he already feels more comforted than he did at the table. He leans into his touch as he starts talking. “You already know the first bit. There wasn’t much of a lead-up, really – Jinsoo was the first person I came out to at school. I’d already told Junghwa, then later my parents.”

His eyes are focused on the wall in front of them, but Taehyung’s touch is soothing. He gently rubs circles into Jungkook’s shoulder as he speaks.

“At first it was enough that my best friend knew. We would chat about boys together and she told me about her first boyfriend and – it was nice. But we’d usually be hanging out when our parents were together too, and if any of our parents turned up then I felt like I’d have to shut up; like I was doing something wrong discussing it. I don’t know.” He leans his head against Taehyung’s shoulder, sighing slightly. “I’ve got no clue where I’m going with this.”

“You’re doing well,” Taehyung says, his voice quiet and encouraging. He kisses Jungkook’s hair. “Keep going.”

Jungkook smiles slightly. “Okay. I told my parents. I felt like I had to hide myself while I was at home and I hated that. So I told them. And – it was a big relief, because they supported me immediately. I mean, they were a bit shocked that I was already thinking about people like… _that._ I think I was 14 at the time, but you know what my parents are like.”

Taehyung laughs lightly, and Jungkook feels his breath tickle his hair.

Jungkook smiles properly this time. “So yeah, they were surprised, but they hugged me and told me it was okay. The only problem after that was a few months later, when being myself at home didn’t feel like enough anymore. Year 11 had just started and I was spending almost all of my time at school, and it was just… suffocating. I felt like I couldn’t be myself.” He shifts position to look at Taehyung. “Do you ever feel like that? Like not telling people is driving you mad.” He gulps. “Sorry. Forget I said that.”

Taehyung shakes his head. “It’s okay. I know what you mean. I guess for me, the fear kind of overrode that.”

Jungkook hums. “I was scared, too. But for me, the strongest thing was the fear of never being able to show who I really was.” He sighs. “So, I told Jinsoo. He was weird about it, at first, but I figured he’d get over it. But instead, when I went into school the next day… no one had even said anything, but I could just _tell_ that they knew. It was like they were all staring at me. Maybe they were.” He gulps, trying to force himself back to the present, because he _knows_ that things are okay now. He’s around the most supportive, caring people in the world – sat here on the sofa with his supportive, caring boyfriend. But as soon as he thinks about what happened back at his old school, it’s like he’s transported back there. Like that time of his life never really came to an end. Maybe, in some ways, it never did.

Taehyung takes his hand, squeezing it hard enough that Jungkook glares at him in protest and pulls away. But at least it drags him out of the moment.

“Are you okay?” Taehyung asks cautiously. His voice is still soft, but this time it feels less like he’s trying to relax Jungkook and more like he’s worried about scaring him away if he speaks any louder.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook mumbles, his voice strained, and he feels a surge of embarrassment when he realises that there are tears welling in his eyes.

“Hey,” Taehyung says quietly, pulling Jungkook closer into a hug. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Jungkook shakes his head, looking away determinedly so that Taehyung won’t pity him. He never cries over this – not anymore. “I don’t want to –”

“Shh, you don’t have to tell me the rest, it’s okay,” Taehyung says gently, holding him tighter and somehow shifting their positions so that Jungkook is sat in his lap.

“This is so stupid,” Jungkook mumbles, trying to blink back the tears before they start falling.

“It’s not stupid,” Taehyung reassures him. “Kookie. Do you want to stop?”

Jungkook shakes his head determinedly.

“Baby,” Taehyung sighs, and Jungkook can hear a protective edge to his voice. “You can always tell me about the rest another time.”

“I don’t want to,” Jungkook says, with newfound determination. “I don’t want to stop. I need to get it out.” He takes a deep breath and shifts backwards, so that his back is resting against the arm of the sofa and his legs are draped across Taehyung’s lap. When he catches sight of Taehyung’s face, he looks concerned, but Jungkook powers through. “I told Jinsoo. And he told me that he didn’t understand… and I told him that he didn’t need to; he just needed to support me.” He finds his gaze shifting downwards, until he’s staring at his fingers as they fidget in his lap. And he admits something he hasn’t told anyone; something he hardly even admits to himself. “I don’t remember if I told him to keep it a secret. It – it feels like it was my fault. That he told everyone.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Taehyung says, gently but with no hesitation. He cups Jungkook’s cheek and tilts his face slightly, so that they’re making eye contact. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he wasn’t supposed to tell anybody. And if he couldn’t work that out, that’s _his_ fault, not yours.” He brushes Jungkook’s hair out of his eyes, something Jungkook’s noticed he only does when he’s feeling more protective than usual. Jungkook feels a surge of affection rush through him.

“I guess, but…”

“No buts,” Taehyung interrupts him with a small smile. “Besides, didn’t he start a rumour about you afterwards? Even if he thought it was okay for him to tell people your sexuality, he still spread lies about you.”

Jungkook smiles weakly. “Yeah. You’re right.” He can feel something settling within him, like a weight that he’s been carrying around on his shoulders for far too long is finally lifting. “Plus he knew that I hadn’t told anybody else at school. I suppose it was pretty obvious that it wasn’t meant to be common knowledge.”

“Exactly,” Taehyung says softly. “Was there more to the story…?”

Jungkook nods. “It was – it was the day after telling him that things changed. People at school were talking about me behind my back and… and to my face, too. I don’t know if I told you that bit.”

“I kind of figured it out,” Taehyung acknowledges hesitantly. “How bad was it?”

“Pretty bad,” Jungkook admits. “They said a lot of things.” He shakes his head at himself, trying to stop the memories from feeling overwhelming, because it’s _over_ now. Despite his efforts, he can feel the tears springing back to his eyes. “They said I was disgusting, they – they called me a pervert, they –” He cuts himself off with an embarrassing sob. And with that, the floodgates are down, and he’s crying into his hands.

“Baby…” Taehyung says softly. He reaches out to hold one of Jungkook’s hands, and Jungkook clutches onto him like a lifeline.

They stay like that for a while, Jungkook crying and Taehyung holding his hand; keeping him grounded.

“I’m sorry for crying,” Jungkook says helplessly through his tears, after a while of sitting in silence. (Well, silence on Taehyung's part. Jungkook doesn’t think that sobbing loudly really counts as silence.)

“Don’t be,” Taehyung says with a small smile. Then, in an effort to keep the atmosphere light so Jungkook doesn’t feel too embarrassed, he continues, “I’ve cried at a lot of stupid things. I cried at _The Notebook_. You’re allowed to cry over this.”

Jungkook laughs weakly, disentangling his and Taehyung’s fingers to brush the tears away from his face as the emotions begin to subside. “How do you always know exactly what to say?”

Taehyung shrugs. “A lot of practice, I suppose. You talk enough, you’ll eventually learn what to say and what to keep inside your head.”

“I think _that_ was something you could’ve kept inside your head,” Jungkook teases.

Taehyung grins. “You’re probably right there.” He looks at Jungkook hopefully. “Do you think this is helping you to get it out of your system?”

“I think so,” Jungkook says honestly. “This will sound stupid but – I feel kind of. Cleansed. Now that I’ve told someone.” He cringes. “That sounded even worse out loud than it did in my head.”

Taehyung snorts. “It’s okay. I get you.”

Jungkook leans forward, resting his head against Taehyung’s shoulder again. “You’re great,” he says factually.

Taehyung chuckles. “You’re great too.” He pushes the hair out of Jungkook’s fringe again – because apparently it will always fall in the way, no matter how many times it’s pushed back – and then he strokes Jungkook’s cheeks with the pads of his fingers, wiping away the tear tracks. The gesture feels so loving that Jungkook feels the breath get stuck in his throat.

“Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, while we’re on the topic?” Taehyung asks softly, his right hand still cupping Jungkook’s cheek as his left hand slides down to hold Jungkook’s waist.

Jungkook hums noncommittally. “I don’t think there’s anything specific about the actual bullying – you get the idea. It was a lot of the same insults, to be honest. But it got to me.” He pauses thoughtfully. “Some people were nice, though,” he admits. “Mainly people just didn’t join in, if they didn’t agree with what was happening, but there were a couple people who stood up for me. Some who came to me afterwards and asked if I was okay; asked if I needed to talk.” He shrugs tiredly. “I always said I didn’t want to. I didn’t have anything to say.”

Taehyung’s hand slides down to Jungkook’s neck. “Jungkook –” He falters, wondering whether it will come across as inconsiderate to try and kiss him right now. But he thinks Jungkook would understand the intention behind it. “Can I –”

“Please,” Jungkook interrupts.

Taehyung’s lips are soft when they touch Jungkook’s. It’s arguably one of the softest kisses they’ve ever shared, Taehyung so heart-wrenchingly gentle that Jungkook fears he might really start crying again, but this time from relief. He can’t believe how lucky he is. Nobody has ever made him feel as safe, or as _valid_ , as Taehyung has.

“You’re okay, Kookie,” Taehyung says when he pulls away, his breath warm against Jungkook’s lips. “You’ll be okay.”

Jungkook sighs, moving away from Taehyung. “Do you think it’s bad that I’ve never told anyone about this before?” he asks anxiously.

Taehyung shakes his head. “It’s personal to you,” he says confidently. “It’s your choice if you want to tell people.”

“I just – with our friends… I feel like there’s a barrier between us, or something,” Jungkook says. “And I can’t figure out who put it there. Do you know what I mean?”

“I often think my friends are much closer with each other than they are with me,” Taehyung admits after a moment’s thought. “But then I wonder how much of it is my own fault, for being closed off.”

Jungkook hums. “You get it, then. I feel like that too. Like there’s so much I haven’t told them. I don’t know if it’s because they’re not interested, or because I’m too worried to talk about it.”

Taehyung’s expression immediately shifts to one of guilt. “A lot of that is my fault.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “You’re the reason I never told them about our relationship, obviously, but there’s a lot of other stuff I could’ve told them but chose not to. I mean, they know I was picked on at my old school but I don’t think any of them know the extent of it… I can’t even remember if I told them it was homophobia, or if they just assumed it was because I’m shy and awkward and a bit weird.”

“You’re not weird,” Taehyung says instinctively, putting his hand over Jungkook’s.

Jungkook smiles. “So you admit I’m shy and awkward?” he asks, just to ease the tension.

“Kookie,” Taehyung says fondly.

Jungkook laughs. “I know,” he says before Taehyung has a chance to carry on. “You’ve told me before. I’m cute when I’m nervous.”

Taehyung grins. “See? You’re learning.” He pecks Jungkook on the cheek. “You’re always cute.”

Jungkook smiles at him, looking a little dazed. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?” Taehyung chuckles. “Kiss you on the cheek?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “Make me feel comfortable even when I’m discussing something I’ve never talked about before. Make me feel like I never have to be nervous around you. I just – how do you do that?”

Taehyung smiles at him softly. “Do you trust me?”

Jungkook frowns. “Why did you answer my question with another question?”

Taehyung giggles. “Why did you?”

“I asked first,” Jungkook says petulantly. But when Taehyung doesn’t say anything in response, Jungkook sighs. “Of course I trust you. I think I might trust you more than I trust anyone else. Or at least, more than anyone who isn’t my parents. But – where did that come from?”

Taehyung kisses him again, this time gently on the lips. “That’s your answer, then. You can talk to me about all these things without needing to be nervous, because you trust me.”

Jungkook is the one to kiss him this time. “I really do trust you,” he says seriously. “So much.”

“I trust you too,” Taehyung says, then blushes as he realises the implications of their conversation. He wonders how long it’ll be before he’s confident enough to replace the word ‘trust’ with ‘love’. “Um, did you want any dessert?” Taehyung asks then, changing the topic. “We might have some ice cream in the freezer.”

“Who needs ice cream when you’re already such a snack?” Jungkook shoots back, a cheeky grin on his face.

Taehyung snorts, dissolving into laughter. “Where did you get that line?”

“Tumblr,” Jungkook answers proudly. “Did you like it?”

“I like everything about you,” Taehyung grins in response, grinning harder when Jungkook’s smile widens as his cheeks flush pink. “Come on then, babe. Let’s go upstairs.”

 

***

 

“You’ll feel okay about this someday,” Taehyung reassures him gently. They’re lying down on Taehyung’s bed, side by side, and there’s a gentle smile on Jungkook’s face, but Taehyung can tell he’s still feeling vulnerable after earlier.

“I know,” Jungkook answers – and he does. Call him crazy, but something about Taehyung’s presence in his life makes him feel he doesn’t need to worry about the future anymore. The promise ring on his hand is a nice reminder that Taehyung isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He fiddles with the ring absentmindedly and Taehyung looks at it in realisation.

“Kookie – you still haven’t seen mine!” he says excitedly. With that, he walks round to his bedside drawer, pulling out an identical jewellery box. But Jungkook is flummoxed when the jewellery box opens to reveal a non-identical ring.

“It’s silver,” he says stupidly.

“I’m aware of that,” Taehyung chuckles. “But they link together, see?” He gestures for Jungkook to take off his ring, which he does. (Albeit a little reluctantly. He likes keeping it on.) Taehyung demonstrates how the knot in the silver ring latches onto the knot in the gold ring – “Like how I latch onto you,” Taehyung jokes.

Jungkook laughs. “I love it. Are you going to put yours on too?”

With a bit of difficulty, they manage to detach the rings from each other again, and Taehyung puts his silver ring on the fourth finger of his left hand. Jungkook smiles shyly and follows suit.

“I like the way this looks on you,” Jungkook says, holding Taehyung’s hand up to his mouth and kissing the ring.

Taehyung blushes – an uncommon occurrence, and Jungkook grins proudly at causing his boyfriend to have that reaction. “You’re ridiculous,” Taehyung states.

“Please,” Jungkook scoffs. “You’re the ridiculous one in this relationship. You know,” he starts, “Rosé told me the ring looked expensive. How much did you actually spend on these?”

Taehyung laughs awkwardly. “Why does it matter?”

“See?” Jungkook says softly, poking him in the chest. “Ridiculous.” But he’s still the one to pull Taehyung into a searing kiss, lifting him up, his hands on Taehyung’s waist. The one to bring him onto the bed, so that they’re lying on top of each other.

Jungkook kisses him deeply, with intent. But after a few minutes, he senses Taehyung’s kisses getting lazy, and Jungkook reluctantly pulls away. “Hey – you okay?”

Taehyung frowns. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He then yawns.

Jungkook laughs. “Tae. If you’re tired, that’s okay.”

Taehyung shakes his head, trying to wake himself up a bit, before kissing Jungkook more insistently. Jungkook kisses him back passionately, but when Taehyung pulls back from the kiss and blinks rapidly, trying to keep his eyes open as he reaches to undo Jungkook’s jeans, Jungkook gently pushes him away.

“You’re tired,” Jungkook says, a small smile playing at his lips.

“Mm not,” Taehyung protests, but he still lets his head fall against Jungkook’s chest.

“Tae. We don’t have to get naked every time we’re alone,” Jungkook chuckles.

“But I like you naked,” Taehyung mumbles against his shirt.

Jungkook snorts. “Go to sleep.”

“Mm kay,” Taehyung says quietly, already beginning to drift off.

Jungkook smiles fondly at his boyfriend, kissing him tenderly on the forehead. “Goodnight,” he murmurs as he wraps an arm around Taehyung protectively.

 

***

 

Jungkook is scrolling through Tumblr on his phone when Taehyung’s mother walks in.

“Taehyung?” she asks hesitantly, poking her head around the open door.

Jungkook looks up and smiles. “He’s already asleep, sorry,” he explains.

“Ah, that’s okay.” She then frowns. “How come the lights are still on?”

“Oh,” Jungkook chuckles. “We were going to stay up for a bit, uh, but then Tae kind of fell asleep. And he collapsed on top of me, so I couldn’t move to turn out the lights or close the door or…”

Mrs Kim smiles at him, amused, and Jungkook smiles back awkwardly.

“Sorry, I should’ve done it anyway,” Jungkook apologises. “He just looked so peaceful…”

“No, I think it’s sweet,” Mrs Kim laughs. She pauses. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, of course,” Jungkook says, putting his phone down on the side of the bed.

She walks over and nods her head in Taehyung’s direction. “Isn’t that uncomfortable for you?”

Jungkook grins. “He does this a lot. I’ve got used to it.”

Mrs Kim looks at Jungkook curiously and his smile falters.

“How long have you two…?”

Jungkook looks down, avoiding her gaze. “I don’t really feel… comfortable talking about that. I mean.” He gulps. “It was him who wanted to keep it a secret. I don’t think I should talk about it without him here – or, well. Without him conscious.”

She smiles. “Maybe I could talk with you two about it tomorrow, before you go? I don’t want to make you feel pressured to tell me… I’d just like it if Taehyung knew he could open up to me,” she admits. “I never wanted to pressure him into telling me about his sexuality or his relationships, but now I can’t help but feel I’ve failed as a mother. I wasn’t there to protect him when he needed it most.” She looks at Jungkook worriedly. “You know, I’ve been wondering – a few months ago, when Taehyung was beaten up, he never told me why…”

Jungkook smiles sadly. “Yeah,” he nods, understanding her question. “Homophobic attack.”

She sighs. “I hoped it wasn’t. But I guess we can’t have everything.” She looks at him anxiously. “Were you hurt too?”

“No.” Jungkook turns his attention to Taehyung, still sound asleep on Jungkook’s chest. “He protected me.” He looks up nervously at Mrs Kim. “You really shouldn’t have to feel like you failed. He wanted to tell you. He did, I swear – he just liked things so much how they were and he was worried that once you knew, that would all change.” He smiles awkwardly. “So really, it’s a compliment that he waited this long to tell you.”

Mrs Kim chuckles at his logic. “I don’t know how much of that was really the truth, Jungkook, but I appreciate your efforts.” She checks her watch and smiles again, this time reassuringly. “I should let you sleep. Shall I turn off the lights on the way out?”

“If you don’t mind,” Jungkook answers gratefully.

And soon enough the door is closed and he’s surrounded by darkness, with a sleeping Taehyung on top of him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for putting off telling jimin until the next chapter - I didn’t want to try and rush the whole thing by fitting it into this one, and hopefully you can understand why jungkook feels apprehensive about sharing it with him
> 
> I really hope that this reads okay, I did proofread but I'm exhausted and need to go to bed. this chapter was so close to being ready so I didn’t want to put off posting for another day ahhhh having said that please let me know if you noticed any errors so I can correct them!! ^.^
> 
> thank you for reading, maybe I'm feeling sentimental because I'm tired but I love you guys lots <3


	43. I’ll do anything to let him know (that I’m his)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jimin finds out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly, thank you so much for 1000+ kudos!!! I can’t believe this many people have enjoyed the story omg, I really hoped that people would like it but this seriously exceeded my expectations so, honestly, if you have left kudos on this work, thank you <3
> 
> we’re so close to the end so I’m trying not to get emotional hahah. I put a lot of thought into how jimin would react to their relationship so I hope you can appreciate where I went with it! enjoyyy

Jungkook is woken up by someone poking him in the stomach repeatedly. “Leave me alone,” he groans pitifully, burying his face further into the pillow.

“Only once _you_ leave _me_ alone,” Taehyung responds, and it’s at that moment when Jungkook realises that his face is not buried in the pillow but rather in Taehyung’s chest.

Jungkook grunts noncommittally as he rolls over, allowing Taehyung to escape from under him before he flops back down onto the bed, face-down. (Somewhere in the depths of his brain he questions how he ended up on Taehyung, when Taehyung was the one asleep on top of him last night. But he quickly dismisses the thought, his brain too tired to deal with difficult questions.)

He hears Taehyung’s footsteps move to the edge of the room, then the sound of the door opening. “Where are you going?” he complains, a pout on his face as he reluctantly lifts his head back up to glare at Taehyung.

Taehyung laughs at the sight of him. “The bathroom. Is that not allowed?”

Jungkook grumbles something incoherent that sounds a little like “You could’ve _said_ before disappearing.” ~~~~

When Taehyung walks back into the room a couple minutes later, he announces loudly, “I think it’s time for us to take the next step in our relationship.”

Jungkook frowns at him as he lifts his head off the bed. “What’s that?”

“Following each other on Tumblr,” Taehyung grins, holding out his phone for Jungkook to see.

Jungkook squints at the screen, the brightness too much for him to cope with after he’s only just woken up, but once his brain registers the information he looks at his boyfriend in surprise. “I didn’t even know you had Tumblr.”

“I didn’t,” Taehyung smirks. “But you’re always on it and I wanted to see what the big deal was, so I made an account.”

Jungkook chuckles, his voice still low and huskier than usual from sleep. Taehyung’s heart leaps in his chest. “Well then you’re going to be severely disappointed,” Jungkook says, finally sitting up in bed so that he can focus on Taehyung a little better. “All I reblog is stupid gay jokes and the occasional superhero fan art.”

Taehyung snorts, not entirely surprised by the revelation. “How many followers do you have?”

“Like, twelve? I think most of them are porn bots,” he replies, his nose wrinkling in distaste.

Taehyung stares at him. “I’m literally three seconds away from deactivating my account and I made it less than five minutes ago.”

Jungkook stares back. “You took your phone to the toilet?”

“You’re very objectionable for someone who’s hardly awake,” Taehyung grumbles.

Jungkook laughs. “You can’t deactivate your account – not before you’ve tried it out, at least.” He pats the space in bed next to him. “Come on, sit down. I’ll show you how it works.”

When Taehyung’s mother comes into the room to check what they want for breakfast, it’s to find Jungkook with his arms around Taehyung as he pokes at Taehyung’s phone, trying to swat his boyfriend’s hands out of the way.

“Stop trying to take over, it’s _my_ account,” Taehyung complains.

“You’re not doing it right!” Jungkook argues. “I’m trying to _teach_ you, why are you making this so difficult –”

“I told you already, I’m far too distracted by your good looks to pay attention to your instructions,” Taehyung grins.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow. “You think that’s cute? I wish you’d just _listen_ –” But his arms still tighten around Taehyung, like he’s trying to reassure him that he’s not really mad. That he’s enjoying this as much as he’s pretending not to.

Mrs Kim coughs pointedly, catching their attention.

“Oh – uh,” Jungkook says uncertainly, starting to pull away from Taehyung, but Taehyung grabs onto his hands, holding him in place.

“Everything okay?” he asks his mother.

Mrs Kim chuckles at his behaviour. “Everything’s fine. I just wondered if you two wanted some breakfast?” She laughs again at how Jungkook’s eyes light up. “What are you in the mood for?”

Taehyung is about to respond that “Jungkook’s not fussy, he’ll eat anything”, but Jungkook beats him to it.

“Could you do pancakes?” He then blushes at his forwardness. “I mean – when I was here, a few months ago. You offered us pancakes, and – I never got to eat any, because Taehyung was already running late and –”

“Babe, you’re rambling,” Taehyung says gently, cutting him off. Jungkook blushes harder.

“I’m happy to do pancakes,” Mrs Kim smiles kindly. “I’ll call you down when it’s ready.”

“Thanks, mum!” Taehyung says gratefully as she leaves the room. He turns back to Jungkook. “We should probably get up.”

Jungkook sighs, resting his head against Taehyung’s neck. “But I’m enjoying this.”

Taehyung smiles. “And there you were pretending I was annoying you.” He squeezes Jungkook’s hands gently. “Come on.”

Once they’re sat with Taehyung’s parents at the table, all eating pancakes together, Mrs Kim asks whether they’re happy to answer some questions about their relationship. She assures them that they don’t have to answer anything they’re uncomfortable with, but they would like to understand the situation better.

Taehyung puts his knife and fork down nervously, but he still listens to and answers as many questions as he can – “We had our first kiss back in August last year, but it wasn’t official until February,” he explains hesitantly when they ask how long he and Jungkook have been together – and, true to their word, Taehyung’s parents don’t say or do anything to make him feel uncomfortable. They simply want to understand. And with Jungkook by his side, filling in the blanks whenever Taehyung doesn’t know how to respond, he thinks that maybe this isn’t so bad after all. In fact, he’s starting to get excited about the prospect of sharing his and Jungkook’s relationship with the rest of their friends.

 

***

 

V and Hani meet up after their exam on Thursday morning, heading to lunch together. None of their other friends have exams today, so when they reach the canteen, lunch trays in hand, V suggests, “Why don’t we sit over there?”

“With your ex-girlfriend and the guy that has a crush on you?” Hani replies incredulously. “Why would you want to do that?”

V shrugs. “Seems a bit rude to sit somewhere else when there’s room on their table.”

Hani keeps looking at him strangely but doesn’t protest anymore.

“Oh – hey,” Jungkook says in surprise when V sits down next to him. “How did your exam go?”

“Good, I think,” V smiles. “How’s school?”

“Mediocre at best,” Jungkook replies, which makes V laugh.

“Since when have you two been friends?” Rosé frowns.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Ro,” V grins. He can feel Jungkook smiling at him – and he knows he isn’t going too far or making Jungkook uncomfortable, either, because they talked about this earlier in the week. How they’re going to start being more open about their relationship without stating anything outright; at least until Jimin knows. After Saturday’s gone and Jungkook has talked to Jimin about everything, V hopes that they can tell everyone else too.

 

***

 

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while,” Jungkook says anxiously, once he and Jimin are sat down on the sofa. He’s nervous, of course, but he’s glad that things are about to be out in the open. It’s just getting the words out in the first place that will be difficult for him.

Jimin smiles comfortingly. “Whatever it is, I’m glad you’re telling me now.”

Jungkook nods. “Me too. And you remember you promised to keep this a secret, right?”

“Of course,” Jimin responds. “No telling anyone, not even Suga.”

Jungkook smiles shakily. “Good. Thank you.” He sighs. “I know it’s a lot to hide from someone, but he – I – it wasn’t…” He almost rolls his eyes at himself. Why does he always trip over his words when he’s nervous? “I just… really hope you won’t hate me,” he says quietly.

“The build-up to this really feels like you’re about to come out,” Jimin comments, completely confused. “But I already know you’re gay. So where is this going?”

“Um, well you’re not wrong,” Jungkook replies awkwardly. “I kind of am coming out. On someone else’s behalf.” He frowns at his own words. “It’s a bit complicated.” ~~~~

Jimin looks at him expectantly. “I’m listening. Whenever you’re ready.”

Jungkook takes a deep breath. “Um. Prepare yourself,” he starts nervously. “Well, the thing is… V and I are dating.”

Jimin looks surprised for a split second, but almost immediately his expression changes to one of sympathy. “No, you’re not.”

Jungkook frowns at his reaction. “Yes, we are.”

“Jungkook, I know you like him a lot, but that doesn’t mean that you’re dating him,” Jimin explains patiently.

Jungkook stares at him. “I’m not _lying_.”

“I don’t hold it against you, Kook,” Jimin promises, “but do you think I haven’t noticed you’re a compulsive liar?”

Jungkook gapes. “ _What?_ ”

“You’re always lying about things,” Jimin reiterates. “You didn’t really expect me to believe you all those times you lied, did you? I mean, take that time when I found V’s shirt on your bed, for example. I _know_ you didn’t have it there because you wanted to see where it was from – I’m not stupid. Your obsession with him had clearly already started and I’m aware that you wouldn’t have given it back at all if it wasn’t for me.”

“Really, you’ve got the wrong idea,” Jungkook says quickly. “Yes, okay, I’ve been lying a lot this past year, and… I guess you’re more perceptive than I realised. But I was lying _because_ of my relationship with V. I was trying to cover things up. Like – the time when you found his shirt on my bed, that was because he stayed over and he left it at my house by accident.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Jimin says, still smiling at him kindly, and Jungkook is starting to get extremely frustrated. “Jungkook, I know this is hard for you, but pretending to be in a relationship with him is only going to make you more hurt in the long run. You have to let it go.”

Jungkook sighs exasperatedly. “Hang on a second.” He stands up and leaves the room before waiting for a response, heading into the kitchen where he dials his boyfriend’s number.

“Kookie?” Taehyung says in confusion when he picks up. “Isn’t Jimin with you right now?”

“Yes, and he doesn’t believe me,” Jungkook bites out. “He thinks I’m just making it up. Apparently I’m a _compulsive liar_.”

“Oh my God,” Taehyung sighs. “Okay, well, I guess we should’ve seen that coming. I really didn’t think he’d dismiss you like that, though.”

“Neither did I,” Jungkook admits. Maybe he deserves that response after lying about so much this year already, but he had more faith in Jimin to at least hear him out before drawing such an extreme conclusion. “I don’t know how to convince him.”

“Have you shown him the pictures you have of us in your phone?” Taehyung asks.

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “That’s _it._ Thank you! I’ll call you back and let you know how it goes.”

Taehyung chuckles. “Good luck, baby.”

Jungkook blushes. “Yeah,” he says stupidly before hanging up the phone. He shakes his head at himself – how is it that, even after months of officially being boyfriends, he still gets flustered by something as simple as Taehyung calling him ‘baby’?

Jimin has turned on the TV by the time Jungkook gets back to the living room. “Do you want to watch Take Me Out?” Jimin asks nonchalantly, as if Jungkook hasn’t just been trying to confess that he’s been in a secret relationship for the majority of the school year.

“Not really,” Jungkook says, disgruntled. “But, while we’re on the topic of dating, I want to show you something,” he says persistently, sitting next to Jimin and muting the TV as he opens the photo album on his phone.

Jimin blanches when he sees ‘enter password’ appear across the phone screen. “Jungkook, I do _not_ want to see your porn collection,” he says sternly.

“It’s not _porn_ ,” Jungkook says exasperatedly as he types in the password. “That was another lie. It’s a collection of photos of V.” He sees Jimin’s shocked expression and quickly amends, “Pictures I took _with_ him.”

Jimin stares at the screen incredulously when Jungkook chooses a picture at random and displays it on the screen. “Wait – when is this from?” he asks in confusion, and Jungkook is relieved that he’s finally getting through to him.

Jungkook taps the photo, checking the date. “The 28th of March.” He watches as Jimin takes the phone from him, zooming in on the picture. “This was the day J-Hope had an afternoon board game party, remember?” Jungkook continues. “He knows about us too. So he threw a party on the day we were planning to meet up, so that we could go out together without any of you guys seeing us.”

Jimin looks away from the phone to stare at Jungkook. “V couldn’t go to that party because he had a date.”

“Yes! A date with me,” Jungkook agrees excitedly, pleased that Jimin is beginning to understand. “We went shopping together,” Jungkook continues, “and he asked me to take a picture of him in that shirt so he could see how it looked.”

Jimin shakes his head, apparently trying to clear his thoughts. “Jungkook, were you _spying_ on V’s date with Jennie?” he asks incredulously.

Jungkook’s smile falls. “You still don’t believe me,” he states, disappointed. “Look – I have other pictures too; just scroll along. I can explain everything.”

But no matter how many pictures Jimin sees – even the selfies V and Jungkook took together in Jungkook’s house – Jimin doesn’t believe any of Jungkook’s explanations. “All this proves is that he’s been to your house,” Jimin says flatly.

Jungkook sighs resignedly. “Jimin, what are you doing tomorrow?”

Jimin raises his eyebrows at the subject change. “Probably studying. Why?”

“Can you have a break in the afternoon, maybe?” Jungkook asks, already taking back his phone to flick through his contacts as Jimin nods his head. “Let me just check if he’s free too.”

When Taehyung picks up the phone, his first question is, “How did it go?”

“He still doesn’t believe me,” Jungkook states flatly, not bothering to censor his words in front of Jimin. If Jimin won’t accept his explanations, that isn’t Jungkook’s fault. “I think the only solution is to explain it to him together. Are you free tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure,” Taehyung responds. “Just let me know the time. Um, Kookie?” he continues, sounding hesitant. “I’m sorry he doesn’t believe you. I feel like this is my fault.”

Jungkook smiles noncommittally. “It’s okay. Hopefully everything will get cleared up tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung sighs. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Jungkook puts down the phone to see Jimin looking at him in confusion. “Who were you talking to?” he asks interestedly.

Jungkook sighs resignedly. “If I said it was V, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?”

Jimin smiles awkwardly, then takes Jungkook’s phone to check for himself. “Dave? From your dance group?” he asks, perplexed.

Jungkook scowls. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jimin.”

 

***

 

The next day at 2pm, Jimin definitely isn’t expecting it when he opens his front door to see both Jungkook and V waiting for him expectantly. “V?” he says incredulously. “What are you doing here?”

V ignores the question, looking at Jungkook with raised eyebrows. “Wow. You really weren’t kidding when you said he didn’t believe you.”

Jungkook smiles awkwardly in response. “This is going to be a long afternoon.”

“I really didn’t expect you to come,” Jimin admits as he lets them inside. “Do either of you want a drink?”

“Water will be fine,” Jungkook answers.

“And make sure it’s really water this time,” V says snidely, unable to stop himself. “You don’t need to get him tipsy again.”

“Oh my God, that was months ago, let it _go_ ,” Jungkook says tiredly.

Jimin looks between them unsurely, but still gestures for them to sit down on the sofa while he gets them some water.

“Here’s your water,” he says awkwardly when he returns. Jungkook and V are sat side by side on the sofa, looking at him nervously. And Jimin really has no idea what to think right now, but he still drags over a chair and sits down opposite them. “So. You wanted to see me?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says anxiously, looking to V for help.

“I feel like we have a lot to explain,” V continues, and Jimin sighs.

“Is this some sort of elaborate acting exercise or something?” he asks resignedly. “Because I’m not that easy to fool.”

“We’re not acting,” V insists. “We – we’re really dating. I made Jungkook keep it a secret. I’m really sorry if I’ve made you think he isn’t trustworthy.”

Jimin looks at him in awe. “Wow, I can see how you got into drama school. I almost believe you.”

V sighs, frustrated. “What the fuck,” he mutters under his breath, before turning to Jungkook. “This is hands down the weirdest coming out experience so far.”

Jungkook smiles at him consolingly. “I did warn you. We’ll get there eventually.”

“I have some pictures of us together,” V continues decisively, turning back to Jimin. “I talked to Jungkook about it before we came here and – and some of them are pretty personal, but…” He looks at Jungkook again, as if he’s looking for reassurance. Jungkook nods. “But I guess that’s what you need to see right now,” he finishes.

“This is the strangest prank ever,” Jimin mumbles to himself as V gets his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s not a prank,” Jungkook says quietly, and Jimin can hear that he sounds hurt. “It isn’t a prank, or an acting exercise, or a joke, or a _lie._ It’s the truth. And we thought you’d want to know, before he tells everyone else.” He lets out a shaky breath. “If you really don’t believe us, you can ask J-Hope and LE. They know already.”

Jimin rolls his eyes. “If I don’t believe _you_ , Jungkook, I’m not going to believe the others. I hardly know them. Besides, they have nothing to do with this.”

“Well what are we supposed to do when you won’t accept the truth from the people who are directly involved?” V snaps, his voice raised, but he relaxes a little when Jungkook rests a hand on his knee.

“Getting annoyed isn’t going to help anything,” Jungkook says quietly, and Jimin watches in bewilderment as V relaxes back into the sofa cushions, turning his attention back to his phone.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jimin asks weakly.

“I told you,” Jungkook says patiently. “We’re dating. Here –” He takes V’s phone out of his hands and hands it over to Jimin. “Look through the pictures. I showed you the ones I had, but V was the one who took all the coupley ones.”

Jimin frowns as he starts to flick through the camera roll, past all the photos of V and Jungkook making stupid faces at the camera. “These are just selfies.”

“Keep scrolling,” Jungkook insists.

Jimin only has to scroll past a couple more photos before he sees Taehyung kissing Jungkook’s cheek, Jungkook smiling widely at the camera. He falters, looking between them unsurely, but then he shakes his head in wonder. “Wow, you’re really willing to go the extra mile just to fool your friends. Did you take this before you came here today?”

“No,” V argues. “You can check the date if you want.”

Jimin taps the photo and feels his brain turning numb. Because what the actual fuck is going on? “26th April. Wasn’t that in the Easter holidays?”

“If I remember correctly, the same day you came over to Jungkook’s to ask for relationship advice,” V explains.

Jimin stares at him. “You mean… you were _there_? But –” He turns to Jungkook. “Is that why your mum wouldn’t let me in?”

“Keep scrolling,” Jungkook says in response, his voice more reserved than before.

Jimin finds a couple more stupid selfies and a couple more photos of kisses on the cheek. But he jolts in shock when he flicks to the next picture and sees Jungkook shirtless in an unfamiliar bed, V lying down next to him as he poses for the picture. “What is this?” he asks weakly, holding up the photo for V and Jungkook to see.

Jungkook looks away from the picture and surreptitiously leans closer to V for comfort.

“I took that after we… you know,” V explains nervously.

Jungkook blushes. “Don’t say it like that. Now he’ll think we had sex.”

“Well, we _kind of_ did,” V says teasingly.

“How do you _kind of_ have sex?” Jimin asks them disbelievingly.

“Oh – well. We jerked each other off,” Jungkook explains awkwardly.

Jimin flounders. “That’s not what I _meant_.”

Jungkook’s cheeks flush bright red. “Well you’re the one who asked!” he splutters.

“I don’t –” Jimin cuts himself off, dropping V’s phone back onto the sofa as he stands up decisively. “I need a minute.”

“Take your time,” V says as Jimin exits the room. He turns to his boyfriend apprehensively. “I feel like that could have gone better.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook sighs. “Me too.”

 

***

 

Jimin is making himself a mug of hot chocolate when Jungkook walks into the kitchen.

“Uh, can we talk?” Jungkook says hesitantly, and Jimin tenses, before heading to the fridge and getting out the squirty cream. “Right, well, can _I_ talk?” Jungkook insists when there’s no response.

Jimin is still focused on the hot chocolate, rooting through the cupboard as he mumbles something under his breath about mini marshmallows, and Jungkook takes a deep breath.

“Do you remember when I found out that Suga had been coming over to your house all the time?” he begins tentatively. “I still don’t know what the reasoning was behind it, but – that’s okay, because it’s his business, not mine. But… if you remember, I wasn’t mad at you. I wasn’t mad at you because it wasn’t your secret to tell. And even if it was, you shouldn’t feel like you have to tell me things. That’s not what friendship is.” His voice is quiet, but he’s confident in what he’s saying.

Jimin finds the mini marshmallows and opens the packet, pouring far too many into the hot chocolate before he squirts some cream on top. Jungkook waits for Jimin to stop squirting before he carries on.

“I don’t know what you think friendship is, but to me it isn’t telling your friends things about your life out of obligation. You don’t tell them because you have to, but because you want to. And… and if I don’t want to tell you something – something that has nothing to do with you, by the way – then that’s my business.”

Jimin turns around to face him, and somehow Jungkook can’t tell whether he’s upset or angry. “You didn’t have any obligation to tell me, Jungkook,” he says, his voice calm but firm. “That’s not what this is about. I _warned_ you. I warned you not to date him; that he doesn’t care about anyone, and you didn’t listen to a word I said. He’s going to _hurt_ you.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “He’s not like that with me. It’s different – _I’m_ different.”

Jimin scoffs. “Right. And I bet he says that to everyone.” He turns back to the counter and picks up his hot chocolate before walking out of the room.

“That’s not fair,” Jungkook states. “You don’t know anything about us. He couldn’t care about any of his girlfriends because he’s into _guys._ What aren’t you understanding here?”

He sighs frustratedly when Jimin doesn’t respond.

“He cares about me, Chim,” Jungkook says, following him down the hallway. “And I know he’s had a lot of trouble opening up and telling people that, but it’s true. You can’t just undermine our feelings, our _relationship_ like that.”

Jimin scoffs again. “Your relationship. The one V kept secret from everyone for months? Sure sounds like he cares,” he says sarcastically.

V eyes them warily as they re-enter the room.

“Everyone has problems,” Jungkook argues, trying to ignore how his heart stings at Jimin’s comment. “It’s none of your business whether I want to date him, anyway. You can offer me advice, but you can’t tell me what to do.”

“Is this why you’ve been so down lately?” Jimin asks, turning towards him accusatorily.

Jungkook shakes his head. “I was upset because we broke up. But now we’re back together, and I’m happier than I’ve been in _weeks._ ” He looks at Jimin pleadingly. “Please don’t be mad. I – he – he makes me happy.”

“You won’t be saying that in three weeks when this is over,” Jimin snaps.

“You’ve seen the pictures,” Jungkook says defensively. “You know we’ve already lasted longer than that.”

“Right,” Jimin says shortly. “So you’ve been lying this _whole time_. I can’t believe we all _believed_ you. Every single time you made something up just to protect _him._ ” He puts his mug of hot chocolate down, forcefully enough that some of the liquid sloshes over the sides and onto the table. “What else have you lied about, huh?”

“It’s not like that,” Jungkook says, seeming upset.

“Hey, that’s not fair,” V steps in, standing up and reaching out towards Jungkook, who takes his hand wordlessly. “You can’t blame him for lying. If you have to blame anyone, blame me. It’s my fault – I made him keep it a secret.”

Jimin shakes his head, laughing humourlessly. “Don’t even get me started on you, V. You’ve forced him back into the closet, just because you’re not ready to come out? That doesn’t sound like the type of thing someone would do who had real _feelings_ for another person,” he says pointedly. ~~~~

“No one _made_ me do anything,” Jungkook argues. “I wouldn’t have kept it a secret if I hadn’t wanted to. I wouldn’t have agreed to go out with him at all if it hadn’t been worth it. I knew when we agreed to make it official that it couldn’t be public knowledge.”

“Then why now?” Jimin argues. “Why are you even bothering to tell me?”

“Because I’m going to tell everybody else in a couple of weeks,” V explains calmly. “And we thought it might be nicer for you to hear it from Jungkook. Before everyone else found out.”

“How considerate of you,” Jimin says dryly.

“Really? You’re going to talk about being _considerate?_ ” Jungkook asks incredulously. “Who reacts to someone coming out like _this?_ I’m trying to help him see that it doesn’t have to be scary, that people will understand, and all you’re doing is giving him shit for staying in the closet. He wanted me to be able to tell you, because – I _trusted_ you. I’m thinking I shouldn’t have, now.”

“You _can_ trust me,” Jimin says helplessly, sitting down onto the sofa in defeat.

There’s a short silence and Jungkook and V follow his lead, also sitting back down. But their hands are still linked together and Jimin can’t stop staring at them.

“But I – this is a lot to take in, okay? I need…” Jimin shakes his head, picking up his hot chocolate as if that will help him figure out how he feels right now. He takes a sip, then immediately regrets it as he winces at the bitter taste. He must have forgotten to put in the sugar. And that thought makes him realise – “I need to talk this through with Suga.” If he discusses it with his boyfriend maybe he’ll be able to sort out his thoughts a bit better. After all, Yoongi tends to be good at reading situations and reacting calmly, in scenarios where Jimin is prone to overreacting.

“What?” Jungkook says, his voice weak. “You can’t _tell_ him. You _promised_.”

“That was before I knew what your secret was,” Jimin says resignedly, getting out his phone.

V looks at him, clearly upset, and his grip tightens on Jungkook’s hand. “Jimin… please, at least let me tell him myself. I can do it now if I have to. Just pass me the phone.”

Jimin scoffs. “Yeah, right. It’s a bit late for that, V. You should’ve thought about that before you dragged Jungkook through hell and back just to suit your own needs. I’m putting an end to this, once and for all.”

“That’s not your decision,” Jungkook argues, feeling more betrayed by the second. “This has nothing to do with Suga. It has nothing to do with _you._ This is between me and V, no one else. Stay out of it.”

“I’m doing this _for you_ ,” Jimin says incredulously. “You can’t seriously be telling me that you _like_ being his dirty little secret? That’s such an _insult_ , I can’t believe you’d ever let him treat you like that –”

“You don’t understand _anything_ ,” Jungkook bursts out, standing up and glaring at Jimin. “You’re acting like it was such a big deal that I didn’t tell you, but you’re the first person I _did_ tell. I _told_ you – I told you all those months ago, about how me and V met over summer and we fell for each other and you didn’t _believe_ me. Why’s it such a shock that I didn’t want to open up to you about anything after that? I wasn’t _lying!_ ” he yells.

“Jungkook,” V says quietly, squeezing his hand gently to try and help him calm down.

“Don’t _Jungkook_ me,” Jungkook snaps at his boyfriend, snatching his hand away. “He’s being a fucking dickhead about this. He deserves every word of it.”

“Kook, come on, I had no _idea_ ,” Jimin says, standing up and reaching out towards Jungkook. He looks shocked, to say the least, an apology on the tip of his tongue, but Jungkook cuts him off before he can get there.

“No – get away from me,” he says, flinching away from Jimin’s hand. “You can’t threaten to out my boyfriend and then act like you’re still my friend. If you want to _help_ , then leave me the fuck alone.”

“Jungkook –” V warns.

“Don’t,” Jungkook cuts him off. “We’re done here. Let’s go.”

 

***

 

The walk back to Jungkook’s house starts in silence, with Taehyung feeling a little worried about Jungkook’s change in mood. He’s waiting for Jungkook to start the conversation, so that he doesn’t accidentally say something wrong. Eventually, once they’re back on Jungkook’s street, Jungkook says grumpily, “I can’t believe he reacted like that.”

“I know,” Taehyung agrees, disappointed. “I knew he’d be shocked, but I mean… I didn’t think he’d get so angry.” He sighs. “He really doesn’t like me.” And maybe it’s silly just how much that thought affects him. But Jimin is Jungkook’s best friend, and he knows that Jimin’s approval means a lot to him. Telling him the truth was supposed to give Jungkook the opportunity to talk freely about his relationship – which he still won’t feel comfortable doing if Jimin blatantly doesn’t approve.

“I don’t understand how,” Jungkook protests as he unlocks the door. “You’re so incredible and you make me feel so important and so cared for and I don’t… I don’t get how he doesn’t see it.”

Taehyung smiles at him softly as they walk inside. “Yeah?”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow at him. “What? You thought I disliked you?”

“No,” Taehyung chuckles. “But it’s nice hearing you say it like that. Knowing how I make you feel.”

Jungkook smiles back at him shyly, closing the door behind them and then grabbing Taehyung’s hand as he leads him through to the living room. “Do you really think he’s going to tell Suga?” he asks, looking at Taehyung anxiously.

Taehyung shakes his head. “I think it was just an instinctive reaction, to want to talk it through with him. The same way I always call you if something happens to me. But I’m _hoping_ , after the way you reacted, he’ll have second thoughts.”

Jungkook hums, sitting down on the sofa. “I really hope you’re right.”

Taehyung sits down next to him, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Yeah, me too.”

Jungkook sighs. “I don’t know why anyone would want to do something like that to you. You just – you’re the best person in the world – and you make me so _happy,_ Tae, you don’t deserve this.”

Taehyung kisses him properly this time. “You’re too good to me, I swear to God,” he mumbles against his lips.

Jungkook kisses him passionately, lingering a little when he pulls back. “I’m really not. I’m only trying to make you feel as good as you make _me_ feel, every time we’re together.”

Taehyung chuckles. “Is that another line you got off Tumblr?”

Jungkook grins. “Nope. That one was all me.” He kisses Taehyung on the cheek. “Are you okay? Jimin said some pretty harsh stuff back there.”

Taehyung nods. “I wish it had gone better, obviously. But at least he knows now.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees. “At least he knows. I’m not talking to him again until he apologises for how he treated you, though.”

“Kookie –”

“Don’t argue,” Jungkook interrupts. “It hurt me too, okay? So just – let me know when he apologises.”

 

***

 

As it happens, it’s only a little over a week later when Jimin approaches V to apologise to him. They were both in school for exams in the morning, so once lunch is over and V is about to head home, Jimin approaches and asks if they can talk.

V nods his head and follows him over to the picnic benches near the exam hall, where they sit down. Thankfully, it’s deserted, now that everyone is back in lessons for the afternoon.

“You wanted to talk?” V says after a minute of silence. He feels more vulnerable without Jungkook here by his side, but he thinks he probably deserves whatever Jimin has to say to him.

“I’m not bothered about your sexuality,” Jimin begins. “Whoever you’re into, it doesn’t matter to me, and I’m sorry if I reacted badly to you sharing that with me. But – I don’t like you dating Jungkook. I can’t pretend I’m okay with it, I really can’t.”

V nods, letting the information sink in before he speaks up again. “Can I ask what the reason is?”

Jimin sighs. “Come on, V. You can’t act like I don’t know your track record. I don’t dislike you as a person, but it’s different if you’re dating one of my friends. I saw what you did to Rosé – how you broke her. She has baggage now, and it’s your fault. Do you have any idea how much J-Hope has to reassure her that he still loves her and that he’s not going to leave her out of the blue?” He winces. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“I know I hurt her,” V says carefully. “I wish I’d handled it differently, and I’m not trying to justify what happened with her, but… it’s different with Jungkook, it really is.”

Jimin glares at him. “This is exactly what I’m talking about, V. How am I supposed to believe that? I’ve seen first-hand how shitty his mood has been lately. You can’t pretend none of that was your fault.”

V gulps. “I’ve hurt him too. I know that. And if we’re being honest here… I wish I could’ve left him, so that he wouldn’t have to put up with me anymore. But I just _couldn’t_.” He takes in a deep breath, forcing himself to stay open and vulnerable, even if it goes against all his instincts right now. It’s the only way to prove to Jimin that he’s being serious. “He’s the one that’s been there for me, without fail, through everything. He’s the one that makes it all worth it.”

Jimin seems torn between believing him wholeheartedly and dismissing his every word. “I know you’re an actor,” he says eventually, “but that was surprisingly convincing.”

“I’m not acting,” V says tiredly. “I wouldn’t joke about something like this. Look, if your problem is that you think Jungkook deserves better, then I agree. But I also know that we’re miserable without each other. We’ve tried being apart and it just doesn’t work.” He bites his lip. “I see where you’re coming from, and I’m trying not to take it personally… But, please. Give me a chance.”

Jimin remains silent, lost in thought.

“Not just for me, but for Jungkook,” V adds. “I don’t want him to think that his best friend and his boyfriend can’t get along with each other. Telling you was meant to help him feel more open with you, not make him feel like he had to hide more.”

Jimin shakes his head. “You can’t guilt trip me into this. That’s fucking ridiculous – _you_ started it –”

“I know,” V cuts him off, frustrated. “I know I did, but you shouldn’t take that out on him. If you’re mad at me, be mad at me. But getting angry at him for my mistakes is a pretty shitty way to act, especially towards someone you call your best friend.”

Jimin glares at him. “Like you know anything about treating him right.”

“Just think about it,” V says tightly, trying to stop himself from lashing out. He knows that ultimately that will only make things worse.

He wants to tell Jimin that _actually,_ he knows how to treat Jungkook like the most incredible and precious and important person in the world, just like he deserves to be treated. He wants to tell Jimin how Jungkook himself has said no one else makes him feel so valued; so important. But he also knows that Jimin wouldn’t believe him, and he’s not here to start another argument. He’s doing this for Jungkook, not himself.

He stands up decisively. “I’ll see you around, Jimin. Stop ignoring Jungkook – he deserves better.”

 

***

 

Oddly enough, Jimin listens to V’s advice. It’s on Friday, after his final exam is over, that he decides he’s going to find Jungkook and talk to him about this. Even if nothing else, maybe it will help to ease some of his confusion and hurt at being lied to.

He knows that Jungkook has a free period last thing, so he heads to the library, knowing that’s where he usually spends his frees. But as he’s on his way there, he spots Jungkook out of the corner of his eye, heading in the other direction. Heading out of school, actually – and Jimin stares at him in confusion for a minute before it registers that, last lesson on a Friday, you’d be an idiot not to go home if you had the option. So he follows Jungkook out of the school gates, planning on talking to him at his house instead.

But Jungkook doesn’t appear to be heading home. He takes a turning that Jimin doesn’t anticipate, and Jimin follows after him, wondering where on earth he’s going. Wondering whether maybe he’s about to uncover something else that Jungkook has been hiding – some sort of secret art group or something, fuck knows. But he’s curious to find out what’s going on.

It’s only while Jimin is following Jungkook through the park that it occurs to him how creepy this whole thing is. Jungkook obviously hasn’t noticed his presence, and Jimin is practically _stalking_ him. Besides, this really doesn’t look like a suspicious situation: for all Jimin knows Jungkook could have just fancied going on a walk.

Just as he’s about to turn around, rethinking his whole plan and considering that he should maybe drop round Jungkook’s tomorrow instead, he sees Jungkook pause by a clump of trees and squeeze in between them, disappearing out of sight.

Jimin stares at the clump of trees incredulously, wondering whether that really just happened. And for a second, he thinks that Jungkook is onto him. That Jungkook has seen him spying on him, and that he’s waiting in the trees for Jimin, ready to get him back and ambush him as he walks past.

But a few minutes go by, and Jungkook doesn’t resurface, so Jimin sighs resignedly and walks over to the trees.

He doesn’t know exactly what he’s expecting, but what he definitely _doesn’t_ expect is to poke his head through the trees and see Jungkook pressing V against a tree nearby, kissing him. The kiss looks pretty intense and Jimin feels a blush spreading across his cheeks as he realises that he does _not_ want to be witnessing whatever this is. He hides behind the tree quickly, hoping that neither of them have noticed him.

It’s at this moment that Jimin decides it’s really time to leave – but then he realises that the kissing has stopped, and Jimin thinks he catches his own name in the conversation they’re having. So he holds his breath and listens more closely.

“I still can’t believe he said that to you,” Jungkook’s saying.

“I deserved it,” V says in response. “You should stop avoiding him. He’s just looking out for you.”

“And _you_ should stop telling me what to do,” Jungkook argues. _Too right_ , Jimin thinks.

Although, in this situation, V does appear to be taking Jimin’s side of the argument, which is confusing.

“I’m just looking out for you, too,” V says through a chuckle.

“I know,” Jungkook says softly. “You’re not – you’re not mad at me, are you? For asking you to wait, still.”

“Of course not.”

“I just… want things to be okay with Jimin, before you tell everyone else.”

“I know. I get it. He’s your best friend.”

“He thinks I’m a liar,” Jungkook sighs, and Jimin feels a stab of guilt in his chest. Jungkook sounds disappointed and upset. _He_ did that to him. “He’s the person I’m closest to out of all our friends, and he’s not even talking to me anymore. What if the other Pink Ladies do the same thing? I just – I won’t have any friends left, Tae.”

Jimin frowns. What’s a tay?

“Of course you’ll have friends,” V reassures him. “Jimin just needs time to adjust. It hasn’t even been two weeks since we told him, Kookie. He’ll get over it.”

Jimin gulps. The longer he stands here, the worse he feels about the situation. Because sure, his intentions are in the right place, but right now it’s _him_ who’s hurting Jungkook, not V. And it’s V who’s comforting him because of it.

It should be the other way around.

For the final time today, Jimin decides that it’s time to leave. He’ll stop by Jungkook’s house tomorrow and apologise for being such a shit friend.

But just as he turns around to leave, he steps on a twig that makes a surprisingly loud sound as it snaps in half. “What was that?” he hears Jungkook ask. And – shit. Following him here was bad, but eavesdropping is a whole new level of creepy.

Jimin hurriedly tries to step away – and fuck, why are all of these twigs so _loud_ on the floor? The leaves are crunchy too, and he’s trying to escape without making too much of a racket but then – “Jimin?” Jungkook asks in surprise.

Jimin turns around and smiles at him guiltily. “Hello. Fancy seeing you here.”

“What are you doing?” he continues, bewildered, and Jimin gulps. But he decides that, after he’s given Jungkook such a hard time for lying to him, honesty really should be the best policy here.

So – “I saw you leaving school and I wanted to talk to you,” he explains embarrassedly, “so I followed you but then you went to the park and not to your house and… by the time I realised how creepy it was that I was following you, it was too late.”

“How long have you been standing there?” Jungkook asks apprehensively.

Jimin sighs. “Long enough to know that I’ve been a shit friend.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen.

“I’m really sorry, Kook. I don’t think V’s good for you – but I also know that if _I’m_ the one who’s hurting you, then I’m doing something wrong,” he admits. “I know… I’ve been hard on you, on both of you, in terms of your relationship. And I’m sorry about that too. I’m just finding it really hard to come to terms with this, and I can’t picture you together. I don’t understand.”

To Jimin’s credit, he at least sounds like he’s _trying_ to understand how they fit together, so Jungkook decides to finally cut him some slack.

“Well… how about you both come round mine next weekend?” Jungkook suggests tentatively. “Maybe if you saw us together, you’d realise why I like him so much.”

Jimin nods slowly. “I mean – sure.” He looks at V, smiling hesitantly. “If you’re making an effort, then I will too.”

“Great,” Jungkook says, sounding extremely relieved. “Are you free on Saturday?” Jimin nods, and Jungkook turns to V hopefully.

“Saturday’s good for me,” V agrees.

Jungkook smiles. “Cool. I’ll see you then.”

There’s an awkward pause as all of them stand there, no one saying anything.

“Um – can you leave now?” Jungkook asks Jimin awkwardly. “We were kind of in the middle of something.”

“Right, of course you were,” Jimin says just as awkwardly. “I guess I’ll leave you to it. Have… fun… or something.”

Jungkook laughs at the phrasing, and as Jimin’s walking away he thinks he hears him saying, “It’s not often you see Jimin being more awkward than me,” followed by the sound of V’s laughter.

Jimin sighs, thinking that even if this has been a very strange couple of weeks, at least Jungkook is opening up to him now. He hopes that when he sees him and V together next Saturday, he’ll start to understand what Jungkook sees in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eek, so telling jimin could’ve gone better, but he’s trying his best to understand, and you can understand his perspective, right? I really hope you can, because I wanted to show all sides of the argument here.
> 
> let me know your thoughts on this chapter, or just in general! your comments really motivate me and I think I’ll need that because I don’t want to write the final chapter lol I don’t want this to be over
> 
> if you’ve made it this far, I can’t thank you enough! you are great


	44. we start believing now that we can be who we are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it’s time to come clean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is officially the last chapter? it’s being posted a bit later than I wanted, but seeing as it’s over 10k I hope that makes up for it haha
> 
> idk how quickly the epilogue will be out tbh because I kind of have to write, well, all of it. but it’s going to be long, so if (like me) you don’t want this story to end just yet, we have the epilogue to wait for hehe. now that’s out the way… I really hope you enjoy this!!

 

The doorbell rings, and Jungkook gulps, trying not to feel too nervous. He knows Taehyung’s bus has arrived and he’s on his way, but he also got a text from Jimin saying he’s now walking over. He doesn’t really know who he’d prefer it to be, to be honest: today is bound to be awkward as hell, regardless of who arrives first.

Having said that, Jungkook still feels his stomach drop in disappointment when he sees that it’s Jimin at the door. It’s an unfair way to feel, probably, and he’d never admit it – but at least if Taehyung had arrived first, they’d have had time to settle back into the way they usually interact without anyone else around. Jungkook is worried that they’ll be so concerned with showing Jimin they have a healthy relationship that they’ll overdo it and seem like they’re putting it on.

Well it’s too late for second thoughts now.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Jimin asks easily as he walks inside.

Jungkook blushes in a mix of embarrassment and panic as he realises that he _really_ hasn’t thought this through. “Um… I don’t know,” he admits. “I guess we can just sit and chat?” He determinedly avoids eye contact, walking over to the kettle. “Do you want a cup of tea or something?”

Jimin stares at him. “Jungkook. It’s, like, 30 degrees outside.”

Jungkook gulps. “Okay. So squash maybe?”

Jimin smiles at him consolingly, seeming to understand the reason for his nerves. “A glass of squash sounds good. And please stop being so on edge. It’s unnerving; you’re not usually like this with me.”

Jungkook sighs as he gets Jimin some blackcurrant squash, wondering why Jimin feels he has the right to tell him what to do. Thankfully, the doorbell goes again before he has a chance to voice his thoughts.

“Hey,” Jungkook says in relief when he opens the door to his boyfriend.

“Hey,” he smiles in response, kissing Jungkook on the cheek before walking inside. “Is Jimin here yet – oh. Hi.”

Jimin smiles wryly. “Don’t look so excited to see me.”

V smiles embarrassedly. “Sorry. I thought Kookie would tell me when you got here.”

“Well I only just arrived, so – wait. Kookie?” Jimin frowns in confusion. “I thought no one called him that.”

V falters. “Well I do.”

“I heard you call him that before, in the park,” Jimin says slowly, “but I thought I misheard. I mean… you said some other words I didn’t recognise, too,” he adds, trying to lighten the mood. “Like ‘tay’.” He expects them to laugh at him for inventing a word. Instead they both freeze.

“You heard that?” Jungkook says worriedly.

Jimin looks at him in bewilderment. “Yeah? Why, what does it mean?”

Jungkook coughs. “Ah, well. It’s actually two words smashed together… ‘the bae’. You take the ‘t’ from ‘the’ and the ‘ae’ from ‘bae’… and you get yourself a new word. ‘Tae’.”

Jimin stares at him. “Wouldn’t ‘the bae’ become ‘thae’?”

“But ‘thae’ sounds stupid,” Jungkook argues crossly.

“Babe, it’s okay,” V says quietly. He looks at Jimin. “It’s my name. Or, well, my nickname.”

Jimin’s eyes widen. “You told him your real name?”

“We’re dating,” V responds, as if it should be obvious. “Hasn’t Suga told you his?”

Jimin stares at him. “Well – _yeah_ , but… you never told Rosé,” he accuses. “You guys were dating for ages.”

“Yes, but Rosé wasn’t – I mean –” V sighs tiredly. “I’m _gay_ , Jimin.”

“I know, but I didn’t think…”

“What, you didn’t think it was serious?” Jungkook asks quietly. “We tried to tell you.”

Jimin sighs. “Yeah. I guess you did.”

Jungkook smiles hesitantly. “Shall we go sit down?”

 

***

 

To Jimin’s credit, the morning they spend together isn’t nearly as awkward as Jungkook expects it to be. It gets off to a strange start, with Jimin questioning V on his university plans and career goals, and for a minute Jungkook is reminded of when he introduced his boyfriend to his father. But thankfully Jungkook makes an executive decision to turn on the TV and once they’ve chosen some soap opera re-run to have on in the background, the awkward atmosphere dissipates. The three of them make random comments on the plot holes of the show, and Jungkook is surprised to acknowledge that this is actually going _well._

Around midday, Jimin asks if Jungkook has any snacks, so Jungkook checks the time and sits up a little straighter, nervous even though he shouldn’t need to be. He doesn’t want to be a bad host – today is already tense as it is. “It’s almost lunch time. Did you want something proper to eat?”

Apparently noticing his boyfriend’s worry, V touches his wrist gently, trying to help him relax. “I could make us something?” he suggests.

Jungkook frowns at him, bewildered. “Like what?”

V pauses. “Sandwiches?” he says hesitantly.

Jungkook rolls his eyes at the response and Jimin looks at them in confusion.

“He can’t cook,” Jungkook explains.

“That’s not true!” V argues. “I made you soup once.”

“You heated up pre-made soup,” Jungkook corrects him. “And you burnt it.”

V falters. “Well what about the time I cooked us dinner?”

Jungkook snorts. “You mean the time you heated up vegetable juice in a pot, turned a pan of pasta into a block of charcoal, and then insisted you had everything under control?”

“Fuck off,” V mumbles. “It was okay in the end.”

“Only because _I_ made us a new version from scratch,” Jungkook points out with a cocky grin. “I don’t know why you’re arguing, babe. We both _know_ that when we live together I’ll have to do all the cooking.” He blushes, realising the implications of his words a little too late: he didn’t mean to confess how much he’s thought about their future together. But V doesn’t seem fazed.

“Maybe,” he acquiesces, “but _I’ll_ be the one who’s paying for your food shopping, once I’m a famous actor,” he boasts.

Jungkook laughs. “What, and I’m going to be a house husband?” he teases.

V smiles fondly. “No way, you’d want to earn your own money. You’re too independent to rely on me.”

Jimin coughs pointedly, getting their attention. “We could go to the café, then?” he suggests, trying to get the conversation back on track. His voice is a little faint and Jungkook realises with a start that he’s probably really throwing Jimin into the deep end here, having these sorts of conversations in front of him. But then again, he supposes that was basically the point of meeting up today.

V looks at Jungkook questioningly. “I mean – I’m cool with the café. Kookie?”

Jungkook falters. “But –” He looks back at his boyfriend worriedly. “People will notice?”

V looks at him anxiously. “It’s your call. You just say the word and I’ll tell everyone, remember?”

Jungkook gulps. “I know. It was only because I wanted…” He gestures vaguely to Jimin. “And he wasn’t –”

V opens his arms, gesturing for Jungkook to come closer. “Come on, come here.”

Jungkook sighs, shifting closer to V until he’s sat in his lap, V’s hands on his waist. “It’s not even you anymore,” Jungkook says pitifully. “I don’t know why I’m doing this to myself.”

V looks at him apologetically. “I put you in a difficult situation.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook chuckles slightly. Because really, that’s the understatement of the year. But still, he looks up at his boyfriend with a big smile on his face. “Yeah, you did. Okay, I’ll tell you what – we can go to the café, but we’re acting like friends, nothing more. Deal?”

V smiles, kissing him gently on the temple. “Deal.”

 

***

 

Jennie walks over and sighs dramatically. “Something tells me I do _not_ want to be serving this table.”

V winces. “I didn’t realise this was your section.”

She rolls her eyes at the response. “If you guys can wait another 15 minutes, I’m finishing my shift then and I can get someone else to serve you.”

V raises an eyebrow. “Is it really so hard to serve us drinks?”

“Is it really so hard to tell people we’re not together?” she shoots back.

“Touché.” V peers round her to search the rest of the café. “Is LE working today? I’m sure she’d be happy to take on an extra table.”

LE happens to be walking past the table at that moment, and she turns around to inform him, “If that’s your opinion, you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

V grins embarrassedly. “Please? To help out a friend? This is awkward enough without Jennie serving us.”

LE takes a look at the people he’s sitting with and her eyebrows raise in surprise. “Do I want to know?” she asks V warily.

“We told Jimin,” Jungkook pipes up. “And now we’re trying to show him what we’re like together so that he’ll stop disapproving of our relationship.”

Jimin hits him on the head with his menu. “You make it sound like I’m being a dickhead about it.”

“You _are_ being a dickhead about it,” Jungkook says.

V looks at LE desperately. “Drinks, please?”

LE sighs, flicking to a new page in her notepad resignedly. “What do you guys want?”

“A time-out from this conversation,” Jungkook admits, standing up. “I’m going to the toilet.”

Jimin anxiously watches him leave. “I’ll have a Coke… but we should probably wait for Jungkook to get back before ordering.”

“It’s cool, I’ll order for him,” V says easily. He turns to LE. “One vanilla milkshake and one strawberry, please.”

Jimin stares at V, apparently offended by his decision. “What if he’s in the mood for something different? I’ve been with you all morning and he didn’t once mention that he wanted a milkshake.”

“Jungkook’s a creature of habit,” V replies patiently. “Look, I’m paying with my money, so if he doesn’t want it then I’ll just drink both. No harm done.”

Jimin looks like he’s going to argue back, but he bites his tongue. After confirming that that’s all they want for now, LE walks away.

V sighs resignedly. “This isn’t going well, is it?”

Jimin looks at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I _mean_ you still don’t like me.” V gestures vaguely to the direction of the toilets. “I can tell you keep looking at us like it doesn’t add up.”

Jimin looks back at him guiltily. “Does it really make you feel that bad that I don’t approve?”

“ _Yes_ ,” V says honestly, and he doesn’t know where his desperation is coming from but maybe it’s because he and Jungkook are so close to having a real relationship now, out in the open, and it’s Jimin’s disapproval that’s holding them both back. “I want this to work out so badly. And he cares about your opinion. I can’t watch him leave me again, I really can’t _._ ”

Jimin’s now frowning at him. “What do you mean, watch him leave you again? Do you mean… when he was upset after you two broke up, that was _him_ who left _you_?”

V bites his lip. “Well – I upset him,” he says hesitantly. “But to be honest, he upset me too. It was a stupid argument, I guess. Neither of us wanted to break up.”

Jimin’s frown intensifies. “You didn’t actually answer the question.”

V almost laughs. “Yeah. He was the one to end things.” He looks up as Jungkook walks back over to their table. “I’m glad he came back to me, though.”

“What are we talking about?” Jungkook asks as he sits down.

“You,” V answers with a stupid grin.

Jungkook snorts. “That must have been an interesting conversation you were having, then. I’m a hoot.”

V laughs. “You’re ridiculous, that’s what you are.”

Jungkook hums. “You’re ridiculous too, though.”

“Ridiculously into you,” V agrees, so focused on his boyfriend that he doesn’t even notice LE reappearing at the table with their drinks.

Jungkook bites back a smile, flicking him on the forehead. “We’re supposed to be acting like friends, remember?”

V chuckles. “Yeah, well. We both know ‘just friends’ has never really worked for us.”

LE smiles at them. “They’re cute, aren’t they?” she says to Jimin.

“Yeah… I guess,” Jimin admits tentatively. He’s looking at them in wonder – because at least right now, it really does look like V and Jungkook are a good fit for each other. And he’s starting to think that he may have read this situation completely wrong.

“Here’s your Coke,” LE says, handing Jimin his drink. She holds up the vanilla milkshake next. “Vanilla?”

Jungkook smiles. “I’m guessing that one’s for me.”

LE passes V his drink and after telling them she’ll be back soon to take their food orders, she heads over to serve some other customers.

Jungkook looks at V’s drink interestedly. “Is that strawberry?” he asks.

“Uh huh,” V smiles. “You want to try it?” He pushes the milkshake towards Jungkook before waiting for a response. Jungkook has a sip and hums in approval. “Do you prefer strawberry to vanilla now?” V asks him curiously. “I remember you had a strawberry one, that time I ran into you in the coffee shop in town.”

Jungkook blushes. “Oh – yeah. That was just because the barista misheard me and I felt too awkward to correct him.”

V grins at the explanation. (He really should have expected something like that to be the reason.) “So that whole ‘people change’ thing was just you bluffing?”

Jungkook turns back to his vanilla milkshake, hiding a smile in his glass. “I’m set in my ways.”

V raises an eyebrow at Jimin from across the table, as if to say ‘I told you so’. Jimin simply rolls his eyes and turns back to his menu, but he’s smiling.

And after they order some food to go with their drinks, Jimin starts to accept what’s happening. He’s the first to admit that he doesn’t know everything about the world, and maybe he doesn’t know everything about V, either. Maybe he was a little harsh on him. Even if V could still make Jungkook hurt in the long run, they seem happy together right now.

 

***

 

Once they’ve walked back to Jungkook’s house, V says that he should probably get going. (He tells Jimin he should be revising for his final exam, but Jungkook knows he already finished his exams. Jungkook wonders whether this is his boyfriend’s way of giving Jimin some time to process.)

“Thanks for coming,” Jungkook says as he and Jimin say goodbye to V at his front door. “I had fun.”

V grins. “I had fun too, Kookie. I’ll see you on Monday?”

Jungkook frowns. “Monday?”

V falters, the grin frozen on his face. “The 14th?”

Jungkook’s eyes widen. “Oh – shit. The 14th, right.” He gulps, looking at his boyfriend apprehensively. “I didn’t get you anything.”

V’s grin softens. “You don’t have to get me anything. Just, if you’re free, meet me in the park after school.”

Jungkook smiles back. “Okay. I can do that. Sorry for forgetting.”

“What’s the significance of the 14th?” Jimin asks interestedly.

“It’s our Valentine’s Day,” V says cheerfully.

“Valentine’s Day was back in February,” Jimin says, bewildered.

“We celebrate every month,” Jungkook explains with a soft smile. He can’t even muster the strength to be embarrassed about the reasoning behind it – not when it’s resulted in a monthly celebration of their relationship.

In fact, he thinks this might be one of his favourite things about V: his ability to turn a stupid conversation into something meaningful. It happened with the 14th, and with dyeing his hair red. Jungkook is excited find out which of their future stupid conversations will have similar consequences.

V kisses Jungkook on the cheek before walking away, and Jungkook closes the door, looking at Jimin nervously. “So? Your thoughts?”

Jimin smiles softly, realising how much Jungkook seems to care about his opinion. “He seems great,” he says honestly. “Is he really like that with you all the time?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook says honestly, relieved at the answer. “He treats me so well, Chim.”

Jimin sighs resignedly. “Well, if you’re telling the truth… maybe I was wrong about him.”

Jungkook’s eyes light up. “Really?”

Jimin nods. “I’m not going to say I love the idea of you two being together, but I can tell he makes you happy. That should be enough for me to accept it.”

Jungkook smiles. “Thank you. That really means a lot. I promise I won’t let you down.”

Jimin laughs. “It’s not you I’m worried about.” But then his expression thins. “I was really harsh on you before. I’ve been thinking and… you were right. You don’t have to tell me anything, and I shouldn’t have got mad at you for it.”

Jungkook raises an eyebrow, knowing what’s coming next. “But?”

Jimin sighs. “ _But_ I thought we were closer than that. I thought you would have told me _because_ you wanted to. I guess it upset me, that our friendship might not be as strong as I thought it was,” he admits.

Jungkook gulps. “It is strong, though. You’re the person I chose to tell, aren’t you?”

Jimin smiles a little. “Yeah. I mean, we are best friends.”

Jungkook grins. “Well, I don’t _hate_ you –”

“Fuck off,” Jimin laughs. “Why are you ruining a perfectly nice moment?”

Jungkook laughs too, and suddenly the tension from the last few weeks disappears, as if things were never uncertain between them.

“I’m glad you’re back, Chim Chim,” Jungkook says with a smile. “I prefer it when we’re not avoiding each other.”

Jimin chuckles. “Yeah, me too.”

 

***

 

When Jungkook arrives in the park on Monday after school, he finds a picnic laid out for him. “What is this?” he asks Taehyung with a surprised smile, who’s sat on a blanket on the floor, unpacking the food.

“I made you stuff,” Taehyung grins.

Jungkook’s smile wavers. “You made it?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes at his boyfriend’s reaction. “I got my mum to help me. Anyway, where could I possibly go wrong with sandwiches?”

“I don’t plan on finding out,” Jungkook deadpans.

Taehyung chuckles. “Everything’s wrapped in clingfilm at the moment, but I’m laying it out for us now. I mean, if you’re not hungry, we can wait. But I was so focused on the picnic stuff that I accidentally didn’t eat lunch, so…”

Jungkook laughs. “We can eat now,” he says, sitting down opposite Taehyung on the picnic blanket.

Taehyung grins. “Great! So where do you want to start? We have sandwiches, sausage rolls, cupcakes, oh – I also brought this,” he says, getting a plastic container out of the picnic basket. “So that we could share some vanilla ice cream, like we were supposed to on our first date at the café,” he explains with a bashful smile. “I mean… it’s probably melted by now. I put it in a cool bag, but I realised far too late that that’s not as effective as a freezer so it’s kind of already turned into goo? I hope it’s still a little cold, but I can’t be sure…” He trails off uncertainly and watches for Jungkook’s reaction.

Jungkook stares at the ice cream, and the two spoons next to it, and he grins at Taehyung, completely endeared. “Tae. You’re _so_ stupid.” But he still picks up one of the spoons, opening the container and digging into the ice cream. He eats a spoonful and hums approvingly. “Hey – it’s still pretty cold. Almost frozen in the middle,” he comments, impressed.

“Really?” Taehyung asks hopefully, and maybe Jungkook’s embellishing how nice the ice cream is after sitting out in the sun for half an hour, but Taehyung looks so happy by the prospect of his gift turning out nicely that Jungkook doesn’t have the heart to tell him it’s not all that good. It’s much more about the thought than the ice cream, anyway.

Taehyung picks up the other spoon and digs into the ice cream, wincing when he takes a bite. “You’re lying. This is kind of disgusting.”

Jungkook holds back a laugh. “It’s not _that_ bad –”

“Why are you lying to me?” Taehyung cuts him off, and from his tone of voice Jungkook might think that he was actually annoyed, if it wasn’t for the gigantic grin on his face. Taehyung leans forward, trying to come across as more intimidating. (It doesn’t work.) “What happened to _communication_? What is this if we can’t be honest with each other?”

Jungkook can’t hold back his laughter anymore. “What the fuck, Tae, you’re so –”

“Incredible?” Taehyung finishes for him. “Thoughtful? A good enough boyfriend to bring you ice cream after school?” He’s close enough to Jungkook now that Jungkook can see two of him. “The least you can do is be honest with me when I ask how it is.”

“You owe me a tub of non-melted vanilla ice cream,” Jungkook giggles.

“Hmm,” Taehyung acknowledges, leaning even closer to his boyfriend. “It seems like I owe you a lot of things nowadays.”

“I think you owe me a kiss, too,” Jungkook suggests not-so-subtly. “I mean. It’s the 14th, and your ice cream present didn’t go so well, so –”

Taehyung cuts him off by pressing their lips together. And Jungkook relaxes into it, not minding in the slightest how Taehyung’s lips are a little sticky from the ice cream. He pulls Taehyung on top of him, until they’re lying together on the grass, probably across the food that Taehyung laid out for them, but Jungkook isn’t bothered about that right now. All that matters in this moment is him and Taehyung.

His and Taehyung’s relationship, which is stronger now than it ever was before. Stronger now that things are looking up for them; now that they can be open about it around their friends.

That thought is what makes him pull away briefly, only to mumble, “You can tell them now, by the way,” before leaning back in for another kiss.

Taehyung kisses him back, but pulls away in confusion as his words sink in. “I can what?”

Jungkook blinks at him. “You can tell our friends. About us.”

Taehyung raises an eyebrow, silently asking him to elaborate, and Jungkook sighs.

“Jimin is cool with it now. We’re talking again, and when he texted me yesterday he even asked me how you were. He’s making an effort to accept that we’re happy together, and. I think – it doesn’t matter what the others think. Even if they’re confused at first, they’ll come around eventually.”

Taehyung nods, accepting the explanation. “So that’s it? You’re cool with me telling them, about everything?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees. “I mean, it’s your news anyway – I probably shouldn’t have –”

“Don’t even think about apologising,” Taehyung cuts him off gently. “Of course it’s your business. This affects you too.”

Jungkook smiles. “Okay.” He tugs at Taehyung’s shirt. “Can you kiss me again? I really didn’t mean to interrupt the flow, or whatever.”

Taehyung smirks. “Seeing as we’ve stopped, don’t you think we should at least move the food out of the way?”

Jungkook pulls Taehyung in even closer. “But I’m so comfy like this. Please don’t try to make me move.”

Taehyung kisses him gently, lingering a little. “The sandwiches are getting squashed,” he points out. But he’s not making any effort to move either.

“That’s your fault for suggesting we have dessert before our main course,” Jungkook argues. “Anyway, squashed sandwiches are a _great_ idea: you basically have room to pack a lot more food that way, if you squash everything, so really –”

Taehyung cuts him off with a laugh this time, and Jungkook grins.

“You’re so –” Taehyung begins, then starts laughing again.

“Logical? Thoughtful? The best boyfriend ever who should probably pack all of our picnics from now on, for food-space optimisation?” Jungkook asks cheekily.

“So ridiculous, I was going to say,” Taehyung smiles fondly. “But I guess that works too.”

Jungkook grins, poking Taehyung in the chest. “Why do you keep talking to me? I just want to make out with you. You’ve been so busy with exams lately and – I’ve _missed_ you.”

Taehyung chuckles. “I’ve missed you too. But it’s almost summer,” he reminds him, “so we’ll have a lot more time together now. Isn’t this week your last week of school?”

Jungkook hums in agreement. “Did you want to meet up once I’m done with school? On Friday?”

Taehyung smiles widely. “There’s nothing I’d want more.” And he kisses Jungkook again, not even thinking about the consequences of their actions; of how in twenty minutes or so, he and Jungkook will have to eat squashed pieces of bread where the filling has spilled out of the sandwich and onto the clingfilm; or how the ice cream is only melting more and more, the longer they leave it out. For now, none of that matters.

For now, kissing Jungkook just the way he likes to be kissed is all Taehyung wants to do.

 

***

 

Taehyung is planning on having a lazy morning, then getting ready in the afternoon and heading down on the bus to meet Jungkook after school. So it’s a bit of a shock to the system when he wakes up at 11am to three new texts from Jungkook:

**I’m on the bus on my way x**

**I just realised we never discussed when I was coming over?**

**I hope this is ok because I’m almost here**

Taehyung checks the time of the last message – 10 minutes ago – and then jumps out of bed, hurrying to get ready. After he’s thrown on some clothes and run a hand through his hair, he sends off a quick text and shoves something in his pocket. Then the doorbell rings.

“Hey,” Taehyung says, breathless, as he lets Jungkook inside.

“Hey,” Jungkook smiles. “Did you see my texts? You didn’t reply.”

Taehyung smiles awkwardly. “I only woke up a few minutes ago.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, and Taehyung can tell he’s panicking. “Tae, I’m so sorry – I can’t believe I woke you up, you usually wake up so much earlier than me? I just really wanted to see you, so I got on the first bus I could.”

“Kookie, it’s okay,” Taehyung chuckles. “Please relax. I just didn’t realise school was already over. I thought it was your last day today.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “My last day was yesterday.” He gulps. “What did you think we were doing today, then?”

Taehyung laughs. “I thought we were meeting in the park after school. Look, it’s my fault, I should’ve checked –”

“I know communication is sometimes an issue for us,” Jungkook says in awe, “but I really didn’t think it would be a problem with something like this.” He pauses uncertainly. “I hope I’m not ruining your plans.”

“Ruining what plans? My plans to wait around all day until school is over so I can go see you?” Taehyung scoffs. “I’d much rather spend a whole day together. I’m glad you’re here.”

Jungkook smiles. “Hey, you know what I thought would be fun? If we went to the beach.”

Taehyung grins. “Like last summer?”

Jungkook nods. “Like last summer. Or maybe even better. Now that we’re together properly, you know?”

Taehyung kisses him gently. “Do you want to have an early lunch and then we can get going?”

 

***

 

J-Hope looks down at his phone to double check he read the text correctly.

**Change of plans: forget 5pm in the park, I’m making it 2pm at the beach. I’ll send the location in the next message. Please be there, it’s important**

He checks over the address underneath, then the bus timetable, and hands over some money to pay for the ticket. Once he’s on the bus, he takes a seat at the back and tries not to think too much about why V needed to see him so urgently.

He’s rereading the text again when he hears a familiar voice and looks up in surprise, only to see Jin and Namjoon walking towards him. “I don’t care if he thinks it’s weird,” Jin’s saying. “He changed the plans last minute. It’s his problem if he can’t deal with you being there too –” He stops in his tracks when he notices J-Hope. “What are you doing here?” he asks in surprise.

J-Hope smiles, beginning to understand why the texts he’s received from his best friend seem so impersonal. “Are you going to meet V, by any chance?”

Jin warily sits down in the seat opposite J-Hope. “How did you know?” he asks as Namjoon squeezes past him into the window seat.

“I’m meeting him too,” J-Hope replies.

Namjoon looks over at him in curiosity. “How many people did he invite?”

“No idea,” J-Hope says honestly. But then he thinks about it and realises he knows the answer. “Probably all the Pink Ladies and T-Birds.” As long as he’s understood the situation correctly, that is.

“I don’t get what could be so important that I had to cut my date short with Namjoon,” Jin says, frustrated. “We had it all figured out: we’d spend the day together and once we were done I’d go and meet V in the park. Now part of us spending the day together is going to be wasted travelling on this bus to some far-off beach I’ve never even heard of.”

“I did tell you we could reschedule,” Namjoon points out, and from his tone of voice J-Hope assumes that they’ve already had this conversation multiple times today.

“I’m not going to forfeit my plans for someone who couldn’t make up his mind about when and where he wanted to meet,” Jin responds firmly. “Anyway, I wanted to see you more than I wanted to see him. But the text from V was really weird… it seemed like he wanted to tell me some deep, dark secret or something.” He looks at J-Hope hopefully. “Any ideas what it could be?”

“I have an idea,” J-Hope admits. “But it’s pretty obvious he wants to tell you himself. I’m not going to ruin it by telling you on our way there.”

Jin sighs but accepts the answer.

 

***

 

Once they arrive at the bus stop in town, Namjoon looks up the location on Google Maps and takes on the role of the navigator. After only a few minutes of walking they reach a car park near the beach – just in time to see LE and Hani getting out of the T-Bird truck.

Hani notices them first and waves them over. “You guys meeting V?” she says with a wide smile.

“Yeah,” Jin agrees, and J-Hope and LE share a look before they all walk together to the location V specified, with Jin and Namjoon hanging back as they try to salvage whatever’s left of their date.

When J-Hope, Hani and LE reach the ice cream stand, they find that Suga and Jimin have already arrived. They’re sitting on two plastic chairs pushed as close together as they can get, sharing a Magnum. “Gross,” LE mutters, and Hani mumbles her agreement.

Suga only looks up and notices them when they start dragging over another plastic table and a few chairs, so that they can all sit together. He finishes the last bite of their Magnum and then turns to his friends. “Are you guys meeting V here as well?”

Hani nods. “I don’t know why he wanted to meet up so far away, though. It seems kind of random.”

“He owes me,” Suga agrees. “I had to get a taxi because you two were using the truck and Jimin didn’t want to travel on public transport. Such high maintenance.”

“Hey!” Jimin protests, hitting Suga on the shoulder with the hand that isn’t hidden under the table. (Their friends don’t want to think about what it’s doing there.)

After a minute, Suga sees two more people meandering over to the ice cream stand and says, “Is that Namjoon?” Then he calls over, “What’s the dork doing with you?”

Jin visibly stiffens and Namjoon remains silent.

“That’s not a nice way to talk about your friend Jin,” Hani laughs, scowling when LE tells her to shut up because she isn’t funny.

“The _dork_ was with me on a date,” Jin responds defiantly once he’s close enough to respond, “but I got a text from V saying the plans had changed and we had to meet earlier, so I thought I’d bring Joonie with me.”

“ _Joonie_ ,” Jimin laughs in delight.

“Say what you want,” Jin smiles back breezily. “I’m happy.” This statement is punctuated with a kiss to Jin’s cheek, courtesy of ‘Joonie’, and the others settle down because to be honest, they are pretty cute together. Besides, there’s no point making fun of someone who doesn’t react.

Soon enough, Jisoo and Rosé arrive as well, Jisoo dragging over another chair while Rosé sits on J-Hope’s lap.

“No one told me we were allowed to bring dates!” Jisoo laments when she notices Namjoon. “I would have brought Lisa.”

“I didn’t bring a date _deliberately_ ,” Jin says. “It’s only because the plans changed.”

“I told you we could reschedule,” Namjoon reminds him.

Jin smiles. “Yes, but I wanted to spend the day with you. V will have to deal with it.”

“Talking of V, where is he?” Hani asks. “I can’t believe he’d ask us to meet up like it was some urgent thing, and then not even show up on time. I even made the effort not to be late!”

“You’re only on time because V told you he wanted to meet at 1:30,” LE says flatly.

Hani scowls. “You could’ve kept quiet.”

“I could’ve done,” LE agrees, “but then I’d have had to see you being all self-righteous all afternoon about how you actually got somewhere on time.”

“Maybe this was a test to see how many of us would show up,” Suga contemplates. He looks around at his friends and adds, “Looks like we’ve all passed except Jungkook.”

“That seems kind of ineffective,” Namjoon comments – his first words in front of the whole group, and they turn to look at him in surprise. “He would have to come all the way over here just to see who arrived, so the joke’s on him really. And what would he do when he’d taken note – just leave again?”

“Okay, smartarse,” Suga mumbles, but Jimin laughs at the comment, knowing that Suga’s only being rude because his theory makes no sense.

“Hey, there he is!” Hani says excitedly, pointing into the distance as she sees a familiar figure walking towards them. But –

“Is that definitely him?” Jisoo asks sceptically, frowning. “His clothes are all weird and I don’t think he’s wearing eyeliner. It’s like that week of school all over again that everyone refuses to talk about.” Eight sets of eyes turn to stare at her. “And clearly still refuse to acknowledge,” she adds, rolling her eyes at them.

“Who’s that walking beside him?” Suga asks, squinting to try and see better despite the sun.

“It looks like Jungkook,” Jin exclaims, noticing the dark hair and red t-shirt. “That’s weird; I didn’t think they talked to each other that much.”

“Wait a second… are they holding hands?” Hani asks in disbelief.

 

***

 

Taehyung checks the time on his phone, seeing some texts from his friends to say that they’ve arrived, and then he puts his phone back in his pocket. He’s timed it perfectly: the ice cream stand is just coming into view now.

“I’ve had fun today,” Taehyung tells him as he takes hold of his hand again.

Jungkook frowns. “Is that your polite way of telling me it’s time to leave?”

Taehyung laughs. “No. I never want you to leave.”

Jungkook chuckles. “Why are you like this?”

Taehyung simply shrugs. “How would you feel about getting some ice cream?”

“That really depends,” Jungkook responds, pretending to think deeply about it. “Is it because you actually want ice cream, or is it just for a trip down memory lane?”

“What difference does it make?” Taehyung grins.

“Well,” Jungkook begins, swinging their arms back and forth playfully. He’s ready to justify his question. “If it’s for the memories of when we met, I know you’re feeling sentimental. If it’s for the ice cream, it just means you’re hungry.”

“Can’t it be both?” Taehyung smiles, grabbing Jungkook’s other hand and stopping them from walking any further. They’re almost back to where they started their walk now, with the ice cream stand just blocking their view of the plastic chairs and tables behind it.

“I suppose we could allow that,” Jungkook relents as Taehyung leans forward and presses a soft kiss to his lips.

“Anyway, you said I owed you some non-melted vanilla ice cream. Now seems like a good time. Okay, come on!” he says suddenly, squeezing Jungkook’s hands and pulling him over to the ice cream stand. He sees Jungkook’s eyes widen as they round the corner and he hurries to explain. “So I know I said I wanted to spend today with just you, but I’ve got a little surprise for you.”

“What’s everyone doing here?” Jungkook asks in surprise, noticing all their friends crowded around the usually empty seating area.

“I had something I wanted to tell people,” Taehyung replies simply, pushing Jungkook gently over to the table and chairs. “I’ll get your ice cream – go and sit with the others.”

Jungkook walks over, feeling rather self-conscious. He wonders nervously whether their friends noticed him and Taehyung holding hands.

“Hi everyone,” he greets them quietly, pulling over a chair and trying to avoid their questioning gazes. “Oh, hey Namjoon,” he adds when he notices that there’s one more person than usual. Namjoon nods at him in response.

“What were you doing with V?” Hani asks. “Do you live round here or something? Is that why V told us to meet him here?”

“No,” Jungkook says in surprise. “V’s the one that lives round here.”

“Really?” J-Hope says, shocked.

“Yeah – about 10 minutes away.” He looks round at their surprised faces with a frown. “Have none of you been to his house?”

“Well… I suppose not,” Hani replies thoughtfully as the others shake their heads. None of them have given it much thought before – they tend to hang out at the café when they’re all together, or maybe walk around town. But they’re starting to realise how strange it is, how they never knew V must have travelled for an hour just to get to school each day.

“Do you know why he invited us here?” Jin asks Jungkook.

“Honestly I had no idea you were coming,” Jungkook states, feeling awkward at being bombarded with all these questions.

“Oh. Then why were you –” But Jin doesn’t get to finish his sentence because V has arrived at the table, handing Jungkook an ice cream but yielding nothing for himself.

“V, finally,” Suga sighs, rolling his eyes. “You owe me big time. The journey took forever, which meant the taxi cost a fortune –”

“Shut up, babe,” Jimin says quietly to him.

“Um, anyway,” Taehyung starts cautiously, “I have some things I’d like to talk to you guys about, and I figured it’d be easier just to tell you all together.” He catches J-Hope’s eye and he nods slightly; a miniscule gesture to show that J-Hope is correct in what he assumes the news is. Or at least partly.

“I feel like I haven’t been honest,” Taehyung admits sheepishly. “About myself, and about other people as well.” His gaze lingers on Jungkook. “I want a fresh start, and I figured there’s no time like the present. So, without further ado, I’m introducing to you the one and only Kim Taehyung.” That sentence captures everybody’s attention.

Jungkook’s eyes widen in realisation. “Tae. Are you sure about this?”

“Wow, that nickname sprung up fast,” Suga comments as the others look at Jungkook in confusion.

“I’m sure. I _want_ to,” Taehyung responds gently. “It’s time. So guys,” he reiterates, looking around at his friends as they all stare back at him. “Kim Taehyung, at your service.”

There’s a rather long pause as everyone shuffles awkwardly in their seats. Jungkook takes a tentative lick of his ice cream.

“So… we know your name. Is that it?” Jimin asks warily. He doesn’t understand why they travelled all the way out here just to be told a simple piece of information that could have easily been revealed over text.

“No, that’s not it,” Taehyung responds. He takes a deep breath and launches into his carefully prepared speech, his voice surprisingly steady. “My name is Taehyung. I have two parents who I love very much and a dog called Soonshim who means more to me than almost anything else in the world. I like wearing eyeliner, but only sometimes because it’s hard to apply and it’s actually pretty shitty that you guys think I don’t look like me without it. And to be honest, I don’t like the jackets we wear, either. Not because of you, but because I feel like when I’m wearing that T-Bird jacket I’m not being true to myself.” He takes in a shaky breath. “I have a white one which I prefer, for a lot of reasons. Partly because of who gave it to me, but mainly because it makes me feel like I don’t have to hide anymore.”

Suga refrains from making a comment about how he really couldn’t care less about Taehyung’s fashion choices.

“I like watching trashy TV and sitting around doing nothing, but I also don’t mind work because I really want to make something of myself one day. I studied harder for my exams last month than I’ve ever studied before, and if I don’t get into drama school I might cry. I like bubblegum ice lollies and I like talking about things that _matter_ and I like playing stupid Would You Rather games to get to know people better.” Jungkook smiles at that, and Taehyung smiles back. He’s rambling now, but that’s good because it’s easy to keep going and he feels freer the more useless information he gives them. “I like walks along the beach because the scenery’s great and when the sun sets, the sky goes the prettiest shade of pink… and I hope you all get to see it someday because it’s _really_ something. But do you know what I don’t like? I don’t like picking up girls.” He looks away from his friends, suddenly nervous. “Like, really not. And that’s probably because I – I’m gay.” He stumbles over his words a bit, but he’s said what matters most and now he can breathe easier.

He glances back to his friends, who are now looking at him differently; mainly in surprise rather than anything else. (Hang on, is that Namjoon? Why is he here?) Lastly he looks at Jungkook, whose eyes are still impossibly wide and seem to be gazing at Taehyung in something like admiration. He senses the most wonderful feeling swelling up inside of him as he continues looking at Jungkook, noticing how proud he is of Taehyung. And somehow it feels like the most natural thing in the world, continuing with a wide grin, “And I’m in love with Jeon Jungkook.”

Those beautiful, big, admiring eyes suddenly double in size and Taehyung can tell that Jungkook is shocked by his revelation. And maybe Taehyung should have told him on his own first, before announcing it to a dozen other people, but he figures that he’s screwed up in worse ways before so it shouldn’t be too bad.

“I can never apologise enough for how I’ve treated you this year,” Taehyung continues, looking right at Jungkook as everybody else seems to fade into something much less important. “But I’m proud as _fuck_ to be able to call you my boyfriend, and you deserve for everyone to know how good you are to me.”

Jungkook shakes his head in wonder, completely lost for words. “God, Tae, you really are unpredictable, aren’t you?” he says eventually. “You don’t think you could’ve told me first before making a public announcement?”

Taehyung bites his lip, all the nerves rushing back into his veins. He’s properly fucked up now –

Jungkook laughs suddenly, more from the shock than from anything else. “Seriously, you could’ve told me. Like, just me. You didn’t have to do this big confession thing,” he repeats gently. But he’s still standing up and enveloping Taehyung in a tight hug, like he never wants to let him go. Taehyung squeezes back just as hard, wrapping his arms round Jungkook’s body and hiding a smile in Jungkook’s neck.

“I’m not one to do things by halves,” he mumbles back.

“Clearly,” Jungkook chuckles.

They stay wrapped up in each other for a few more moments, until Jungkook tells his boyfriend quietly, “Uh… Tae? Everyone’s looking at us.”

Taehyung pulls away from the hug to look at his friends. They’re and definitely confused – including J-Hope, LE and Jimin who, although they already knew about part of Taehyung’s confession, still seem a little stunned by the information he revealed. But more than anything else, they’re staring at him in complete shock. (And although Namjoon barely knows them, he still appears to be politely interested.)

After a moment of silence, Rosé speaks up. “Right. So we’ve found out that your name is Kim Taehyung, and then a load of random, useless information in the middle, before you admitted you were gay. Cool. Now I feel much less targeted that you broke up with me. But do you care to explain what happened to make you to fall in love with Jungkook? I swear you two barely spent any time together.”

“Actually… we hang out all the time,” Jungkook says apprehensively. “Just never with you guys.”

They all turn to look at Jungkook in confusion, and Taehyung smiles nervously. “Maybe we should start at the beginning.” He looks at Jungkook worriedly, who puts down his (melted) ice cream and gestures for Taehyung to sit down with him. After a split second’s hesitation, Taehyung sits down in his lap, Jungkook’s hands coming to rest on his hips. “We actually met over summer,” Taehyung explains, “at this very ice cream place. It was the worst first impression ever, really, because Soonshim went and _bit_ him, right on the ankle – and… I think that’s where the story you guys know ends. We met, he was smitten, I felt nothing, the end. Right?” He looks around at them for confirmation, and a couple of them nod. “Okay. Well, that was a complete lie. Jungkook made an obviously great first impression by face-planting in the sand and dropping his ice cream, which I thought was completely adorable, so when we ran into each other again a few days later I asked him to come walk with me. After that we kind of walked together every day and…” He looks round at them to see their reactions – and really, they look like they understand even less than before.

“So you’re telling me that a two-minute interaction with some random kid was actually a two-month long friendship?” Suga asks incredulously.

“Yeah,” Taehyung agrees awkwardly. “A little more than friendship, actually.”

“Surprise?” Jungkook adds with a hesitant smile, and Jimin laughs out loud.

Jin glances at him. “You don’t seem nearly as surprised as the rest of us,” he comments.

“That’s because I’m not,” Jimin admits.

“Did you know?” Jin asks in surprise. “About all of this?”

Jimin pauses thoughtfully. “Well, I knew about their relationship, and I caught Jungkook calling V by his real name a couple weeks ago… but I didn’t know about the eyeliner,” he says fairly.

“I don’t understand,” Jisoo says.

“Do you remember when Jungkook told us he and V had a summer romance?” Jimin says.

Jisoo’s eyes widen. “That was true?” She looks like the information is a bit too much to handle and Jimin puts an arm round her consolingly. She turns to Jungkook. “When you told us that you met a cute boy at the beach and you became best friends for the summer… you were being serious?”

“Clearly not – V isn’t cute,” J-Hope grins. Taehyung scowls at him.

Jin looks at Jungkook guiltily. “We thought you’d made it up.”

Jungkook shrugs sadly. “I wouldn’t have brought it up at all if I’d realised you knew him. I knew he wasn’t ready to come out yet.”

“So you guys have been together this whole time?” Suga asks, his voice flat, almost like he doesn’t know which emotion he should choose.

“Pretty much. I actually wondered if you knew already,” Taehyung admits. “You were the one who suggested me and Jungkook should go the dance together.”

Suga raises an eyebrow. “You’re right, I was. I think you owe me a thank you in that case, you dick.”

J-Hope laughs at his reaction. “I was planning on suggesting it, actually. But you beat me to it.”

“Why were you going to suggest it?” Hani asks curiously, but then she falters. “You knew _too_? And you didn’t tell us?!”

“He didn’t want me to,” J-Hope responds simply.

“Same here,” Jimin adds, looking at Suga apologetically. “I wanted to tell you, but Jungkook got really mad when I suggested it.”

“I wanted to tell you myself,” Taehyung explains quietly.

Suga nods in understanding, still processing, and Jisoo speaks up. “So the reason you went to the dance together wasn’t because V felt lonely without Jennie, or because Jungkook had a huge crush on V,” she says slowly, trying to work it out.

“I _do_ have a huge crush on him,” Jungkook grins.

“And you guys can call me Taehyung,” Taehyung adds.

Jisoo ignores them. “It was because you were together?” she finishes uncertainly.

“Yeah,” Jungkook agrees with a wide grin, relieved that she’s understanding this a lot quicker than Jimin did. “Together.” He can’t keep the smile off his face.

“In the car on the way there,” Rosé starts, and Jungkook looks at her in surprise. Her voice sounds calm and steady, but Jungkook is starting to think that she’s putting it on. She looks out of her depth. “You asked if you could kiss him. I thought you were just being weird, but…”

Jungkook nods, feeling a little guilty as he thinks about the amount of lies he and Taehyung have stacked up between them. “We were discussing how much we could act like a couple without people realising that was exactly what we were.” He blushes when Taehyung takes his hand, linking their fingers together. “I never would’ve started the conversation if I’d realised you could hear us.”

Rosé nods, letting the information sink in. “And when he didn’t want to hold your hand on the way in?”

“I did want to,” Taehyung cuts in.

Jungkook smiles at him. “He wanted to, but he was scared people would piece things together and realise we were really dating.” Rosé looks like she’s about to speak up again and Jungkook quickly continues, “It wasn’t like he never wanted people to know. But he wanted to tell people on his own terms. Things were already tense with those guys from school threatening to out him.”

“People were trying to out you?” Jin asks Taehyung in shock. “Did you manage to stop them?”

Taehyung smiles wryly. “I won the car race, didn’t I?”

They all stare at him.

“ _That’s_ what that was about?” Hani asks incredulously.

Taehyung nods, and Suga opens his mouth again. “When they were talking about one of the T-Birds being gay,” he says carefully, “they weren’t really talking about me, were they?”

Taehyung almost laughs at the expression on his face – he looks awestruck, like he’s just solved the Da Vinci Code or something. “No. They were talking about me. But thanks for saving me out there – even if it wasn’t deliberate.”

Suga smiles at that. “You don’t have to thank me,” he says, his voice soft. Like he didn’t demand a thank you for something much less important, only moments earlier.

“I’m confused,” Hani admits. “I thought LE was the one who set up the race, after she stole stuff from their car.”

“I was,” LE replies.

Hani stares at her, trying to read between the lines, and eventually she asks, “You knew too?”

LE nods. “I stole from them after I found out the truth,” she explains, involuntarily gritting her teeth at the memory of it. “I got so mad after what they did to V.”

“Taehyung,” Taehyung corrects her.

“What did they do to him?” Jisoo asks interestedly, leaning forward in her seat, always a sucker for gossip.

LE looks to Taehyung.

“They beat me up,” he explains. “Apparently the whole ‘gay’ thing wasn’t okay with them.”

Jisoo’s expression changes from one of excitement to one of sympathy. “How did they know?” she asks softly.

“They saw us kissing,” Jungkook says quietly. “We – we should’ve been more careful –”

“You shouldn’t have to be careful at all,” Jin says firmly, cutting him off.

“Homosexuality is completely natural,” Namjoon adds, and the rest of them look at him in surprise, having completely forgotten he was there. “There’s evidence of homosexual relations in all kinds of species other than humans; such as penguins, albatrosses, macaques and walruses.”

“Are we all going to pretend we know what macaques are?” Jisoo asks.

“I can change that one to ducks, if you’d prefer,” Namjoon says graciously.

Taehyung’s expression turns sour at the mention of ducks. “Ducks are –”

“The spawn of Satan, we know, babe,” Jungkook says tiredly.

But apparently they don’t know. “Since when have you had a vendetta against ducks?” LE asks, flabbergasted.

“Since one quacked at him aggressively,” Jungkook answers with a snort.

“My hatred of ducks started way before then,” Taehyung says indignantly. “They don’t have to quack _aggressively_ to sound weird.”

Jungkook snorts. “ _You’re_ the one who sounds weird right now, Tae.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of me,” Taehyung protests, even as he starts to laugh. “You’re my boyfriend. You’re supposed to stay with me in spite of my irrational hatred of various farm animals.”

“Remind me to put that in my vows,” Jungkook deadpans, and Taehyung grins.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Taehyung says suddenly, reaching into his pocket. “Now that they know…” He pulls out the promise ring that he hastily shoved in his pocket this morning. “You want to put these on properly?”

Jungkook nods shyly. “Can I put yours on for you?”

The Pink Ladies and T-Birds (and Namjoon) watch in amazement as Jungkook puts the silver ring on Taehyung’s ring finger, smiling bashfully at him. And Hani’s jaw drops when Taehyung takes the matching gold ring off Jungkook’s right hand and pushes it onto his ring finger, too – although she has always been one to draw dramatic conclusions. “Are you engaged?” she asks, looking slightly terrified.

“No,” Taehyung laughs embarrassedly. “They’re promise rings.”

“You told me you got that ring from your family,” Rosé frowns at Jungkook.

Jungkook gulps. “Yeah, well.”

Taehyung leans closer to his boyfriend’s ear, asking, “Was that a lie or a promise?” and Jungkook blushes.

“Well they are promise rings,” he replies, his voice meek, and Taehyung presses a soft kiss to his neck.

“This might take some getting used to,” Suga comments.

Taehyung looks at him apprehensively. “Are you okay with it?”

Suga stares back at him like he’s stupid. “V, I’m not straight, either. Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”

“My name’s Taehyung,” he responds. He doesn’t say anything else.

Suga continues to stare, trying to figure out why Taehyung thinks he’d have a problem with his sexuality, until he remembers something and his face goes pale. “I told you you were the straightest person I know,” he says in realisation. “That if you were gay, I wouldn’t understand anything about life anymore.”

Taehyung sighs, defeated. “You didn’t know. But yeah, that made me feel like shit.”

“I only said it because it was so unlikely,” Suga says sulkily.

“I’m sorry for laughing about it,” Hani says worriedly. “You know I didn’t mean anything by it, either.”

Taehyung smiles slightly. “Yeah, I know.” He looks around at them. “So you’re really all okay with this?”

“Literally no one cares about your sexuality, Taehyung,” Rosé responds. And Jungkook doesn’t miss her dismissive tone, but he also doesn’t miss how Rosé is the first person to call him by his real name. And he wonders if there might be some hope for them to rekindle their lost friendship, after all.

Jin smiles nervously. “Well, now that it’s all out in the open, why don’t we share our coming out stories?”

Taehyung frowns. “This kind of _is_ my coming out story.”

“He did this a couple weeks ago for me, and I think he’s talking about how we realised we were gay,” Jisoo explains. “Like, when did you first figure things out?”

“When I met Jungkook,” Taehyung answers with no hesitation.

“What?” Jungkook chokes out.

Taehyung smiles at him softly. “Okay, so, maybe not as soon as I met you. But you were the one who helped me work it out.”

“But I didn’t even do anything,” Jungkook says, perplexed.

“You did. You spent time with me every day, you opened up to me, and every time you smiled –” he pokes Jungkook’s cheek to get him to smile again – “just like _that…_ it made me wonder. We’d be hanging out together and I’d be thinking, _fuck, what do I do? I really want to kiss him._ ”

Jungkook blushes, and Taehyung grins.

“So, naturally, I tried not to focus too much on what I was feeling, because it was never going to happen. But then you came out to me and I started to realise that I might actually have a chance with you. And somehow, something about it seemed so easy.” He puts an arm round Jungkook’s body, holding onto him tighter. “And then, a few days later, you kissed me. And it turned out it really _was_ that easy. Being with you.”

“ _He_ kissed _you_?” Hani asks in surprise, reminding Taehyung and Jungkook of her presence. “But he’s so shy.”

Jungkook blushes. “Well. It just felt right.”

“I’m glad you did,” Taehyung says seriously. “I don’t know if I would’ve had the confidence to initiate anything myself. When you kissed me, all I had to do was kiss you back.” He cups Jungkook’s jaw, smiling at him softly. “I could hardly believe it was happening. All I could think was how lucky I was, that I had a chance to be with you like that. Even if only for the summer.”

“Was he this cutesy with you, Ro?” Jisoo asks curiously.

“Never,” Rosé says, but she doesn’t sound bitter about it. Confused, definitely, and in awe, perhaps. But not bitter.

“I’m sorry, Ro,” Taehyung says, sudden and out of the blue. Their friends look at him in surprise, perhaps a little nervously because they don’t want to witness another fight. But this apology is long overdue, and if Taehyung wants to come clean about everything then he’s determined to do it properly. “I really am. I never meant for things to go so wrong with you. I fucked up, and none of it was your fault. But I couldn’t love you like I wanted to. Like you wanted me to.”

Rosé sighs. “Okay,” she says softly. And it might not be much, but it’s a start.

“So, real talk,” Jisoo says, cutting through the silence. “Have you sucked his dick?”

Jungkook blushes again, his eyes wide. “What the hell, that’s _private._ ”

“Please,” Hani scoffs, turning to Jisoo. “They’ve been dating for _months_ , of course they’ve sucked each other off.”

“ _Guys,_ ” Jungkook squeaks.

“V?” Suga says, turning to him for an answer. “Come on, you’ve never been the type to be secretive about stuff like this.”

Taehyung shrugs. “If Jungkook doesn’t want people to know, then I’m not going to say anything. Anyway, a lot of the stuff I told you guys before was made up.” After a pause, he adds, “And please call me Taehyung. I went to a lot of effort to tell you my real name, you could at least use it.”

“So _Taehyung_ ,” Hani says pointedly, “what’s Jungkook like in the bedroom department?”

Taehyung sighs, tightening his hold on Jungkook protectively. “Can you guys stop? You’re clearly making him uncomfortable.”

Rosé snorts. “I told you guys right at the beginning – he’s far too pure for the Pink Ladies.” Her cheeky grin sent in Jungkook’s direction gives away that she doesn’t really mean it. But then her gaze shifts downwards and she frowns. “Kook, what happened to your ice cream?”

Jungkook looks down in surprise at the melted mess on the table. “I forgot to eat it.”

“I can’t believe I bought you ice cream and you didn’t even finish it,” Taehyung teases.

“Well you distracted me with your big coming out speech!” Jungkook protests with a laugh. “You still owe me a non-melted vanilla ice cream, I have you know.”

Taehyung chuckles. “I can buy you another one, if you want. You have to actually eat it this time, though.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “It’s okay, I don’t really want it that much. I’d rather leave this mess behind and go sit by the sea with you. I mean. If you want to.”

Taehyung smiles, kissing his hair. “Okay.”

“Is this exclusively couples-only or can I come too?” Jisoo asks. “I’d love to sit out in the sun for a bit.”

“Why don’t we all go?” Taehyung suggests.

So that’s how they end up playing about together on the beach, with J-Hope spraying Rosé with sand even as she protests that she doesn’t want to get it in her hair, Jisoo and Jin sunbathing side by side, and Namjoon, Hani and LE splashing each other in the shallow water. (Jimin and Suga have disappeared to get another ice cream, but they’re taking a curiously long amount of time to return to their friends. They decide not to question it.)

Meanwhile Taehyung and Jungkook lay down opposite each other in the sand, only a few metres away from their friends but at the same time lost in a world of their own.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Jisoo asks Jin, looking over at them curiously. Taehyung’s hand is on Jungkook’s waist and Jungkook is grinning widely as he talks.

“No idea,” Jin replies, also watching, and he smiles when Jungkook giggles at something Taehyung says. After a pause, he asks, “Do you think it’s weird that we didn’t notice?”

“No idea,” Jisoo says with a small smile, turning to face Jin. “I mean, you all noticed with me. But that was different. You’ve known me longer than Jungkook, and I never realised I had anything to hide.” She looks back to Jungkook, making eye contact with him by accident, and he blushes and then says something to Taehyung. The next thing she knows, Jungkook is lifting Taehyung up and over onto his other side, so that he’s turned away from his friends and Taehyung is the one facing them. Taehyung looks over at Jisoo and waves, a wide grin on his face.

Jisoo grins and waves back. “They seem happy, though.”

“They sure do,” Jin agrees.

 

***

 

A while later, it’s getting late and they all decide it’s time to head home. So they walk over to the car park, Taehyung holding Jungkook’s hand tightly in his own and enjoying the fact that none of their friends are making a big deal out of it. They’re still processing, of course, but they’re doing it privately. And so far, none of them have got mad at either Taehyung or Jungkook for hiding their relationship for so long.

All considering, Taehyung thinks he ought to consider this a success.

The Pink Ladies and T-Birds take their turns saying goodbye to Taehyung, politely ignoring the fact that Jungkook is right by his side, Taehyung insisting on keeping him close after so much time spent pushing him away.

LE starts things off by giving Taehyung a quick hug and telling him she’s proud of him – and that alone is enough to make Taehyung feel emotional, because LE doesn’t say things like that often. But he quickly gets over it when Hani wraps him in a tight hug, promising that she’ll always think the world of him and in turn making him promise that they’ll meet up again soon.

Jin and Namjoon go next, and the conversation is a little awkward because Taehyung doesn’t know either of them that well, but it’s still nice to hear that they accept him. Jin even suggests that they go out on a double date together, and Taehyung laughs and says he’ll consider it. Jisoo follows, giving him a hug and telling him that while she doesn’t really know what it’s like to be closeted, she does know what it’s like to be confused and she’s there to talk to if Taehyung ever needs someone. And even if Taehyung thinks he’s pretty much figured things out by now, he still thinks it’s a nice gesture. Jisoo then adds to Jungkook that she’s agreed to give Jin and Namjoon a lift back home and she’s happy to take him too, if he wants. Jungkook smiles gratefully, accepting the offer.

Jimin and Suga both wish Taehyung and Jungkook well on their way towards the taxi, and it feels awkward to Taehyung, but Jimin is smiling kindly at him and Taehyung thinks that maybe going public about his relationship with Jungkook will make Jimin realise how serious this is to him. Suga, on the other hand, still seems completely befuddled, but as Jungkook said, even if they’re confused at first, they’ll come around eventually. At least Suga knows now. And Suga pats him on the back before he heads off, promising that yes, the world may seem misleading after discovering that Taehyung is gay, but that his own stupid opinions should never make Taehyung feel like his sexuality isn’t valid. Taehyung laughs and pats him on the back in return, understanding that this is Suga’s skewed version of an apology.

Jimin and Suga walk over to the taxi they’ve ordered, telling Rosé and J-Hope to hurry up so they can go home, and Rosé walks over to say goodbye – and that conversation is definitely the most awkward of all. She doesn’t really say much, just “Bye Taehyung, see you soon”, but it’s the most civil they’ve been to each other in a long time, which Taehyung takes as a good sign. He thinks it’s good of her to come over and say goodbye, even after all the information he’s dumped on her today. Maybe there’s hope for them yet.

J-Hope is the last to give Taehyung a hug goodbye, telling him, “You did well today. You should consider using that speech in drama school.” Taehyung laughs in response, waving him goodbye enthusiastically even after he watches the taxi leave.

Finally he turns back to the only person remaining. “Jungkook,” he says softly.

Jungkook smiles at him – one of the fullest, most adorable nose-scrunching smiles that Taehyung has ever seen on his face. And when he says, “Thank you for today, Tae. You were amazing and – I’m so proud of you,” Taehyung thinks his heart might just burst.

He lets Jungkook pull him into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around Jungkook just as tightly and refusing to let him go, even as Jisoo and Jin start calling at him to hurry up.

“I’d better go,” Jungkook chuckles as he tries to step back from Taehyung, only to find that he’s still trapped in place.

“No,” Taehyung says maturely, showing no signs of moving.

“Tae, we’ve been through this before,” Jungkook protests, but he’s still smiling. The last time they were in a similar position was when they thought Jungkook was leaving forever. This time it feels much less like an ending and more like a new beginning: they know they have the rest of summer to enjoy each other’s company – and they’ll make things work next year, whatever it takes. After all they’ve been through together, God knows that they can survive whatever life may throw their way.

“You can’t leave me,” Taehyung says, holding Jungkook even tighter. “Not now. It’s been a big day.”

“Don’t try and blackmail me into this,” Jungkook laughs.

Taehyung opens his eyes and looks right at Jungkook, whose laughter dies out. There’s something so vulnerable in Taehyung’s eyes that Jungkook doesn’t quite know what to say.

“Please, Kookie,” Taehyung says quietly. “Say you’ll stay.”

And in that moment, Jungkook knows exactly how their story should have ended the first time around.

_Say you’ll stay._

At least this time, he knows how to finish it properly.

“Okay,” Jungkook smiles. “I’ll stay.” He pulls Taehyung in closer and kisses him.

 

***

_Say you’ll stay._

_Okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ Taehyung frowns. “This kind of is my coming out story.” ~ don't mind me just breaking the fourth wall
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this!! as I mentioned to a couple of people, this story was mainly meant to be focused on taehyung coming to terms with himself, which is why I chose to end it here. however we still have the epilogue to go and that’s where we’ll see more of their friends’ reactions to taekook’s relationship! :D
> 
> also! if you have any specific parts of the plot you wanted an ending/resolution for that I may have overlooked, or you wanted specific questions answered on how various people reacted to their relationship – or for anything else to be included in the story! – just let me know and I’ll do my best to work it into the epilogue :’)
> 
> I’ll probably go ott at the end of chapter 45 to gush about how great this writing experience has been, but for now here’s a friendly reminder that I have a main yoonmin fic I’m working on called [light up the darkness before it all disappears](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11508309/chapters/25823409) and I’m working on a couple new fic ideas too now that this one will be over, so stay tuned for that if you’re interested in seeing any more of my writing! ^^ thanks for sticking with me all this time, it really means a lot <3


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